Parallels
by Glory Nizenea
Summary: After being brutally attacked by a vile lonely freak who isn't supposed to exist, Hikari has gained the power to throw universes like shuriken. Epic Ken x Miyako, some Daisuke x Hikari x Takeru.
1. A Rotting World

**Title**: DIGIMON 02: Parallels

**Disclaimer**: I do not own digimon, nor any of the characters used in this fic, except one or two. XD No infringement intended.

**-\/-**

**Digimon 02: Parallels**

The peace, the calm, the storm...

Soon, it will all arrive.

Prologue

She is breathing in deep; inhaling the sweet scent of refreshing air, the smell of spring, of fresh honeysuckle and sugary melted caramel. She can feel the air enter her lungs, can feel her chest rise, can feel it fall, can feel all of it... fall.

And, just as the sweet smells and sights and sounds come to her, they fade – no, no, they don't just _fade,_ they freaking EXPLODE. They are GONE, hasta la VISTA, baby, BOOM. Honeysuckle burns into ash, caramel melts into nothing but blackened char, spring scent now nothing but the putrid odor of burning fur and decaying flesh. The blue skies have twisted and turned, their clouds stirred and dark, and in turn, the blue has become red, and the white cumulus now not gray – _not_ gray – but black.

This unfamiliar sight leaves a sickening feeling in her stomach. She'd never seen black clouds before. She'd never seen a blood red sky before. She'd never smelled decaying flesh, or watched as the things she once labeled innocent and kind and sweet become nothing but a memory of times past.

She looks up again with unseen glory at the creature standing atop the black clouds like a dark god of death, wearing platinum armor and holding a massive sword. For a second she can hardly believe her eyes – could it be Omegamon? No. Not Omegamon. Definitely _not_ Omegamon.

The creature descends swiftly from the clouds, sword raised high, and not a second later, the blade plunges into the ground, ripping it apart, thunderous and riveting and resounding throughout her ears, her mind, her soul. Even in her core that sound reverberates and echoes everything she fears is true. From the crevice the sword creates, there is an _explosion_ of hellfire and shadows, reaching forward, forward, forward, reaching to grab her, grab her and hold her tight.

They wrench her back by her hair, the shadows hold her to the ground, whispering such sweet but dark, dark things; such kind but such menacing words; and the shadows swallow her whole, and she can do nothing but scream as darkness plagues her sight.

However, in the darkness, a light shines.

It is only a brief flash, but it's there, and as it lingers, she reaches out for it. Her hand touches something soft – lo, some_one_ soft – and she smiles gently. Whoever's hand she holds clutches hers back just as firmly, and pulls her into the light. The figure's face is always veiled by the gallant and mighty light, but... though she cannot see the man's face... she still feels warmth in her heart when she sees him, and knows that she is safe so long as he is there.

She is given only one clue as to who this man filled with light is, and that is the black dragon symbol embedded into his bare shoulder. Its jaws are open wide, a ball of red flame gleaming between those long fangs, and despite the symbol being on her savior's shoulder, she cannot help but feel that the mark is also a mark of something...

Not right.

...Despite the figure's presence, the storm clouds still approach...

Stirring, dark, closing in

Closing in like the jaws of that dragon scar

Will she forget?

Forget that she is

(The One)

?

Then, just like that, Hikari bolts upright in her bed, panting, eyes wide and pupils small, sweat dotting her temples. She looks toward Gatomon peacefully resting in her own small basket, and though she wishes to wake the tranquil cat (a cat who appears almost kitten-like in her sleep), she knows that it was just a dream.

Right?

...Right?


	2. Chaos

**Genre**: Mostly action/adventure, drama (not angst), and horror, but it also has a lot of epic, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, tragedy, family, and friendship qualities. Small splash of Humor (especially in the second arc) and Mystery.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own digimon, nor any of the characters used in this fic except one or two. XD No infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: This is a TEST to see how things look. It'll be deleted, HOWEVER, I do plan on re-posting a better, edited version of it as well as future installments (I'm thinking about 12-15 chapters). If you would like to know when the story actually begins, tell me and I will e-mail you when the new story is being published (or if you don't have account, fav my profile). Again, this is a test to see how things look regarding this story. And before anyone asks, this is a second draft. XD

**Digimon 02: Parallels**

_Bury all your secrets in my skin  
Come away with innocence and leave me with my sins_

—Snuff by Slipknot

**Chapter One**

The Stolen Heart

Hikari had seen a lot of horrible things in her life—reports of women getting the blood sucked out of their necks, her brother and Agumon floating up and up and... up into the sky like a couple of diligent balloons, her friends one-by-one turned into cloth and plastic and metal by a single ripple of a white tablecloth; she'd seen creatures with eyes the color of garnet wine, staring deep into her own as they reached their rubbery mitts toward her to grab her and drag her into the depths of their endless shadow.

Yes, Yagami Hikari had seen _many_ terrible, disgusting things and terrible, disgusting _people_—but not once had she ever seen nor felt what she had the moment her (one and_ only_) eye spied Gatomon leaning over her shriveled figure. Hikari jerked her head back in a shrill scream, fingertips digging into the grainy sands of a desert she didn't know the name of. It wasn't even mainly her shoulder or her legs or her face or her stomach that hurt; it was the feeling like something had been _wrenched _out of her. It was a feeling that ended at many places in her body, all stemming from the beginning: Her chest was flaring with uninterrupted, undiluted pain, stinging particularly where there was a single fist-sized hole right above her left breast.

"It'll be okay, Kari," Gatomon attempted to comfort her. She could feel the feline's hot breath press against her face, tickling her neck, before pain swept across her body. If she couldn't feel a rush of stinging agony consuming her right shoulder (or, at least, what was left of her right shoulder), she would've smiled and nodded at her digimon as if nothing was wrong.

_Hah,_ she mused in her mind, trying to laugh through all the goddamn anguish burning from her toes and up, yet no matter how much she tried, she could only scream through her laughter. _You know what's wrong about laughing?_

Her gaze traveled to the nearby figure who disappeared behind a cloud of golden beads that sparkled like diamond shards in the sun; like bread crumbs leading her further and further away from home when, if anything, they should've been leading her to her goal. When the gale of wind stopped and the bronzy grains of sand halted, the figure was gone.

_I can't even feel my diaphragm._

Again, she let out an ear-splitting shriek that was a cross between a scream and a cackle, causing Gatomon to jolt upright. Her eyes widened, the tip of her paw brushing Hikari's chin as she tried to contemplate what would happen if the others didn't get here soon.

"Kari, just hold on!" she cried, reaching forward to grab Hikari by the arm.

_It's too late, Gatomon_, Hikari wanted to say. _You can't come to my rescue now._

As the others arrived, she could feel their hands lift her from her blood-soaked spot in the sand. Her eyes rolled in their sockets, lids flapping as her limbs tangled in a sudden flurry of movement. She tried to say something, but whatever it was came out as a gurgled jumble of unintelligible nonsense.

"Kuh... _Kuh_... Ken... his _name_..." she stuttered, lacing her fingers through Ken's wiry raven hair as he picked her up and began carrying her to the nearest portal. She screamed as his foot jammed into a pocket of sand, his knee slamming down and causing her bleeding arm to yank to the right. She swore she heard a snap that anyone could hear if they were close enough; she could see Ken wince more than enough to know it wasn't just in her imagination. However, that snap made it all that much easier to _scream_; scream and say exactly what she needed to say:

"KAY

US

MON"

And with another flow of blurry blues and greens of a nearby DigiPort, a painful unconsciousness consumed her sight. Even though she was supposed to be asleep, however, there was something inside her that wasn't asleep. Something that was awake; something that was watching, waiting, remembering; something that was a dark, deep red, curled up inside her chest as it lusted for vengeance.

Something that sifted through her memories as it brought her back to what got her into this predicament in the first place. Yes, what _did_ bring her to this desert?

What was the thing that replaced her arm with something else—something... deadly?

**-\/-**

Hikari remembered that it was the anniversary of MaloMyotismon's defeat. As always, the Destined planned a big celebration. After all, not only was it MaloMyotismon's defeat, but after him, every other "bad guy" seemed like a piece of cake. MaloMyotismon was probably the hardest digimon the Destined ever had to face—after him, all that was left were small fries: a few lackeys, some wanna-be viruses, a messed up digimon here or a misguided vigilante there. Somehow, it was always the humans that scared Hikari the most and, after MaloMyotismon's defeat, there _were_ a lot of humans the Destined had to stop.

After all, most people on Earth received a digimon partner. It was a sweet concept—it was like the Destined were given a great gift, a gift they could now share with the rest of the world. And it made Hikari happy to know that fact, since everyone had those moments when they needed someone to talk to more than anything or anyone else. When a partner was down and out, Digimon were always there to be with you—be there _for_ you, when no one else could be or wanted to be. So when humans used their digimon for evil purposes, the Destined (especially Hikari) always worked hard to either make them realize the error of their ways or to bring them _down_. However, she always had a sneaking suspicion that she was the only one actually _scared_ of "misguided" humans. After all, it'd been only four years since MaloMyotismon's defeat. Only four perilous, tiring years since two tremendously different worlds were still clashing and fusing together. Problems only began to arise.

Just as there were evil digimon, there were plenty of evil humans to suit evil dues.

However, Hikari supposed that was why there were Destined—and not only were there twelve now (twelve who fought for roaring courage, fighting friendship, guiding love, fruitful knowledge, dutiful reliability, loving sincerity, cherished hope, and shining light), but there were hundreds of Destined spread across the Digital World who fought for countless reasons, with countless attributes embedded past flesh and into core. By allowing the world to discover digimon, it opened the doors to so many realizing their potential and their purpose in a world that was swiftly changing. In that respect, Hikari was glad. In other ways, she was worried.

Some people deserved having a digimon partner.

Others... were another story.

That was why, when Hikari looked down at her lap to see Gatomon curled up in a tightly-knit ball, she smiled and sighed, running her fingers delicately through her thick white fur. Feeling the touch of her gentle partner, Gatomon took a deep and ragged breath. Without opening her eyes, the digimon asked, "What's wrong, Hikari?"

Hikari didn't want to answer.

Another thing about digimon partners: they always knew with just a single gesture if something was wrong with their dear human.

At least, Gatomon always did.

When Hikari didn't answer, Gatomon continued, "If you don't tell me, I'll have to force it out of you."

Hikari grinned and raised an eyebrow at her, amused by the gesture. Since when did Gatomon use force anymore? Despite her saucy side, Gatomon became a peaceful creature in the past few years. Hikari softly laughed and raised her eyebrows. "Oh? And how will you 'force it out of me'?"

"Hm," Gatomon sighed, rolling on her back to peer up at Hikari. She could see her reflection in the digimon's big blues, staring tiredly down at her partner with a weary gaze that seemed a mixture of amused and, well, kinda' dead-tired. Gatomon gave that same Cheshire cat grin and said, "I think I'll force it out of you like... _sneak attack style_!"

Gatomon pounced. In seconds, she sprang to her feet and her paws reached forward, brushing Hikari's sides and causing the sixteen-year-old girl to throw her head back in a low bellow of outrageous laughter. Gatomon laughed, too, but her laughter was a lot more quiet that her partner's—partly because she wasn't the one being tickled.

"H—Hey! Stoppit!" Hikari said between giggle fits as she tried to swat her partner's paws away from her sides, but it wasn't working very well. Gatomon just kept on coming back, her paws going from Hikari's sides to her feet, and from her feet to her neck, whereupon Hikari thrust her arms into the air and plunged them back down into a crushing bear-hug around Gatomon. The feline squeaked in surprise, causing Hikari to grin. "Catcha'! Now you'll see things _my_ way!"

And, still clutching Gatomon very, _very_ tightly, her fingers twitched along Gatomon's sides as the cat digimon bit her mouth shut. Hikari grinned evilly at that; she _would_ make Gatomon laugh, dangit! No matter what happened! And before long, Gatomon's eyes filled with tears, her shoulders shook, her fangs still clamped tautly on her bottom lip.

"C'mon," Hikari goaded, flashing a grin of pristine pearly whites. "You can't hold out forever!"

And, just like that, Gatomon snapped. She burst into laughter as she struggled to get out of Hikari's grasp, but to no avail. Ah, there it was! Hikari's revenge! She was waiting for that lovely bit of information. She'd always loved making Gatomon laugh since it was so rare when she truly did, especially lately. Lately, things were... less than stellar. But that was for later more depressing times, now was the time for fun! She wanted to make Gatomon laugh until her voice was sore, mwahaha!

"Oh no you don't!" Gatomon shouted, suddenly grabbing Hikari's wrists with her velvety gloves. Hikari gave her a wide-eyed blink, stunned by her partner's keen flexibility. Gatomon gave an all-knowing grin, which was something Hikari very much envied. "No getting off-topic for _you_, missie. Seriously. You don't ever look this tired. And, uh, you know, you kinda went to bed a _eight_ yesterday. Seriously, Hikari? _**Eight**_."

Another wide-eyed blink.

Hikari mouthed the word "eight" as she held up eight fingers, both eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Wow," she said quietly, turning to stare up at the ceiling as Gatomon sighed and tapped her claw against her partner's leg. Hikari knew that motion better than anyone—that was her _If you don't tell me, I'm gonna tell Taichi_ warning. Gatomon learned to do that lately. If something was wrong, she'd go right to Taichi. Or Takeru. Or Miyako. Or Daisuke. Or Iori or Ken. But most of the time, it was Taichi. Even so, Hikari still didn't want to tell her.

_Tp, tp, tp_.

Her claws continued to tap against her knee. Eventually, Gatomon rested her elbow against the fat of Hikari's upper-leg as she leaned her chin against the palm of her free paw while the other paw continued tapping, even though she gave the appearance of a lazy-eyed security guard during night shift.

_Tp, tp, tp_.

She really didn't want to tell Gatomon. Maybe she could say something else? Maybe she could mention how Gatomon seemed different now. It was odd, but true. She wasn't different personality-wise or anything, but Hikari could remember when Gatomon seemed a lot bigger back a few years ago. Now that Hikari was older, the girl grew a few inches from the good 'ole bang-bam-boom-you're-dead days. She felt like an old woman now, even though she was only a little bit past half of her teens.

Gatomon, however, looked exactly the same. She was maybe a bit thinner (probably from recent stressing about Hikari's mental health), but she was still a spry young thing.

_Tp, tp, tp_.

Ugh, that was getting annoying.

"Are you still having those nightmares?" Gatomon finally said, her gaze slowly venturing toward Hikari's eyes. Hikari didn't meet her partner's stare, only looked ahead of her like a ghost. She didn't want to look into those innocent eyes.

"...Maybe?" Hikari responded.

"Maybe," Gatomon said back with raised eyebrows. "Kari, I thought we were going to talk about this when it happened. Do you think they mean something or not?"

"I don't know."

"If you don't know, then they probably do. Why haven't you told anyone about them yet?"

"Because I don't know what they mean!"

"What even _happens_ in them?" Gatomon frowned, reaching forward to cup Hikari's hand in her own. It was a calming gesture in an attempt to tell Hikari that it was okay; everything would be okay. But Hikari wasn't so sure.

"Well, they change from time-to-time," she said, biting her bottom lip in thought. Gatomon stared at her blankly for a few seconds, completely silent. Hikari could almost hear her say, _Well, I'm _**waiting**_!_ She smiled wearily at her partner and sighed, folding her arms before she spoke. "Sometimes, there's just me. Alone. Watching the world around me slowly fade away, or even explode. It's like—I have all these—these—_memories_—and they're so amazing until they're ripped away from me like I'm a kid getting my candy stolen from me. Everything burns. Shrivels. _Dies_."

Silence.

"So what happens after that?" Gatomon's voice was a quiet quiver.

"Sometimes, nothing happens. I wake up." She smiled that same tired, lazy smile, which faded as the next few words fell on her lips. "Other times, just as the world is about to be ripped out from under me, I'm saved." The tired smile was replaced by a more happy, energetic one, like the kid got her candy back. "He's draped in this... this... _white light_, so bright it's blinding. He holds his hand out to me and grabs me, holding me as we stare up at the figure who's ripping the world away from me."

Her smile faltered, her gaze slowly drawing back toward Gatomon as the digimon listened intently. Hikari sighed and shook her head. She felt like an idiot. Tiredly, she reached up and rested her hand against her forehead, her fingers entangled in her bangs as she closed her eyes.

"Go on," Gatomon said. "I'm still listening."

"I think... the figure is oblivion..." she continued, her chin rising slightly as she turned to stare out at the nearby window. She watched a couple of bluebirds chirp a tittering duet, beaks opening and closing, black beady eyes glistening against the morning sun. Dew was beginning to form on the green tree leaves. "The birds, the trees, the wind—he stops it all. Destroys it all. He creates only destruction. It's—driving me _insane_, Gatomon. It's better when the man saves me, but it's still so _frustrating_."

The two sat quiet for a while. Hikari didn't want Gatomon to think she was an idiot or silly for worrying about it, but there was an alarming realistic quality to each dream—she could feel the heat licking off her skin, could feel a stream of sweat drip down her brow, could feel the wind lancing through her brunette tassels of hair. It was all so... _real_.

Hikari was always the one person to believe the unbelievable, and to believe it in a snap. When her brother came for a short while during summer camp, she hadn't questioned it when she learned about digimon. She didn't freak out like most people would (at least, not like _Jou_ did). When she saw Gatomon for the first time, there was a part of her that _knew_ exactly who Gatomon was. It was buried deep down, but it was there, as clear as the golden sun and silver moon and all their glowing children of the skies. Gatomon was a digimon, and she was Hikari's partner.

Just like there was a dark figure who would rain heaven and hell upon the Earth.

"So..." Gatomon began, glancing up at Hikari as the girl winced. The feline smiled gently as she brushed her index finger against Hikari's chin, forcing her to look at the digimon. "...Was he cute?"

Blink, blink.

"_What_?"

"Was your savior, Mr. Hero, cute?"

"I don't know—heh, I don't even know his name," Hikari mused, giving a harebrained smile at her digimon. That made it even _more_ silly. "Looking at him is kind of like looking into the sun—you can never see things clearly because it's too bright."

"And you'll burn your corneas."

"Yeah."

They chuckled slightly. Hikari was acutely aware that Gatomon really wasn't going to let this go—not for a while. Even though everything was fun and games for now, there were problems and things they needed to talk about. Talk about _a lot_.

"I did recognize one thing, though," Hikari said. Gatomon's head perked in interest. Hikari smiled. "On his shoulder, there was this tattoo of a black dragon. Freaky little thing, it looked like it was going to eat me."

_You're too freaked out_, said a voice inside her head. _In turn, you're going to freak out Gatomon_.

She looked over, expecting to see Gatomon's furry brows curled into a livid V, but the expression she saw wasn't anything like that at all. Well, at first, it was something similar, like a concerned glare, but in the end, they were an angel's blue, warm and worried. Gatomon sighed and shook her head, one of her paws resting on Hikari's head so she could ruffle the teen's hair. Hikari smiled slightly at the gesture, to which Gatomon smiled back.

"I'm glad it didn't," Gatomon said. "I'm a little fond of ya'."

She paused.

"...So," she began. Instantly, Hikari knew this wasn't gonna be good. When Gatomon began with that single word, Hikari knew that something awkward was going to come next. And sure enough... "What were you doing looking at his shoulder anyway? I presume it was, you know, _bare_ and all..."

"Gatomon!" Hikari blushed and turned away from Gatomon, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. Gatomon gave a mischievous little snicker, her prying eyes watching every single of Hikari's movements until the girl turned her swiftly reddening face toward Gatomon's. She pursed her lips, folded her arms, and said in a very firm voice, "Well, that is just none of your business. So keep your big flat nose outta' it!"

"Yowch!" Gatomon laughed. "Jeez, just curious! I know you'd never do anything like that. Right. Riiiiight? You're still my sweet little innocent sheltered Yagami Hikari, huh, huh?"

Normally, Hikari would've giggled and nodded, then head off to meet the fridge. She'd mentally say to the fridge, _Now, sir, I need some ice-cream, so you better have some ice-cream, sir!_ And if the fridge didn't, well, one, that'd suck, and two, she'd just have to put it on the grocery list. One of her favorite past times with Gatomon was eating ice-cream while watching foreign musicals—something about attempting to sing along to it was always amusing, especially when Miyako was involved.

However, this time, Hikari realized she was very sick of Gatomon's big flat nose and instead waited until Gatomon was done laughing (_Jeez, instead of a cat, maybe she should be a hyena,_ Hikari jabbed with a chuckle). When the feline was looking straight at a silent Hikari, the girl gave her the sliest grin she could muster.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Hikari answered.

Gatomon blinked.

Hikari grinned.

Stood.

And headed toward the kitchen.

"Um—um—" Gatomon continued to blink into stunned silence.

Hikari continued to, well, grin. And laugh. And giggle like a giddy schoolgirl (which she technically was, so it all worked out in the end).

Bubblegum pink adidas let off high-pitched squeaks as she moved toward the white fridge. The soles of her shoes eventually hit aquamarine flower-speckled tiles as she reached for the cold metal handle and roughly pulled it open. She stared into the endless depths of the freezer, gaze wandering toward the items stocked in groups of five. Peas, corn, salmon, sushi, Ramen (_What the heck is Ramen doing in the _**freezer**_?_ Hikari wondered—and immediately dismissed the thought when she remembered that Taichi came to visit for a weekend after he moved into his apartment), and, there in the far corner, she spotted it! A bucket of raspberry truffle ice-cream!

"Ah," she said, plucking it from its frozen misty spot. She plopped it down on the gray-dotted counter and immediately pulled off the lid, careful not to put the soft sensitive underbelly of her arm down on it lest she wanted to get frostbite. Which could never happen. But hey, the bucket was freezing as heck. "Best of all, Gatomon, this raspberry truffle ice-cream isn't the mushroom truffle kind!"

Hikari remembered when her mom tried to make raspberry truffle ice-cream. Not realizing the directions meant the _candy_ kind of truffle, she'd bought _actual_ truffles. It... wasn't exactly a pleasant experience. Even Taichi and Agumon were afraid to touch the stuff, and they ate practically anything, even if Mom made it! But then again, when she took out the delicacies from her ice-cream, it wasn't half-bad. She had to give credit where it was due, after all.

After a few seconds, she realized she hadn't heard a thing coming from Gatomon's mouth since she'd teased the digimon. Granted, Gatomon wasn't exactly the boisterous type, but she hadn't even come out to get a bowl with Hikari. The girl blinked and glanced toward the hallway, where she could see a dim light flowing from her room.

"Hey, Gatomon?" Hikari began, blinking as her brow crinkled. "I didn't shock you _that_ much, did I? I was just kidding around. And even if I wasn't, is it _really_ that stunning that I could have a great sex life? I mean, seriously. Come on!"

Still nothing.

Hikari sighed and shook her head as she swiftly plopped two monster scoops into one bowl and three monster scoops into another. Her fingers were already frozen, and she'd just barely touched the bucket! However, the cold only made her move quicker. She put the bucket of ice-cream back into the freezer, grabbed the two bowls, and headed toward her room. As soon as she stepped one foot into the hallway, she realized something was terribly wrong.

Her first clue was her mahogany door _slamming_ shut, blocking the golden-orange light from hitting the darkness of the hallway.

Her second clue was the fuzzy clicking sound she heard echo from her room, like someone turned on a television to a channel no longer in service. She could imagine the white and black squares fluttering across her T.V., flickering between each other in a snowy abyss. Even so, why would Gatomon shut the door over that?

Her final clue was Gatomon's worried voice echoing hollowly from inside the room. Her words were too muffled to understand, but clear enough to know that she was saying something very important—something she didn't want Hikari to be bothered about. Yes, Hikari was concerned and stressed lately. No, Hikari didn't appreciate getting her own door slammed in her face while she held two bowls of ice-cream.

"Hey, Gatomon, these bowls are cold! I think my fingers are about to fall off!" she shouted at her door. It was true, the shiny black glass bowls _were_ beginning to feel a lot colder, like metal in winter. She sighed and knocked on her door with the brunt of her left foot. When there was still no answer, she kicked the door harder.

Still nothing.

"You're starting to worry me!" Hikari frowned.

Actually, she'd been worried the first time she noticed Gatomon wasn't responding, back when Hikari was still in the kitchen shouting to her partner. She should've noticed that Gatomon hadn't followed her to the kitchen—usually, Gatomon and she had this routine. They'd have girl time, then get ice-cream together.

Hikari's foot came rushing forward to kick the door a third time, however, just as toe should've met wood, her door was flung open. Instead of hitting door, her foot continued barreling forward into nothing but air until she found herself slipping on her rug and nearly doing the splits. While Gatomon winced, Hikari fought to keep the ice-cream from spilling out of her hands.

"I guess all those dance lessons really did pay off after all," Hikari said with a nervous grin as Gatomon helped her to her feet.

"If they paid off," Gatomon snorted, "you wouldn't have been so graceless in the first place."

Hikari gave her a half-hearted glare before her attention turned to the rumbling digivice on her desk. She quickly moved toward it despite Gatomon's worried glance, her footsteps like heavy clogs on bathroom tile.

"Gatomon, what happened here?" she spluttered, placing the bowls down on the desk beside her digivice. She quickly picked it up, her gaze briefly tracing over the flickering face talking to her through the D-3. The reception must've been crap because she could only see the figure through a few dim flickers before the digivice turned snowy again (_that explains the humming sound I heard_). The few times the digivice did remain steady, she could see a golden mane, pink scars—eyes a frozen blue, buried beneath the deepest arctic snow.

Leomon?

Why was he contacting her?

"We have to go to the Digital World," Gatomon said firmly, picking up the digivice. "Leomon's in trouble. He's getting help from Ogremon, but neither of them is overly prepared. Before it fully broke up, he told me to just press a button and a portal will transport us to the place."

"Did you get a hold of the others?"

"Yeah, they'll join us later," Gatomon said, taking the digivice from Hikari and pressing the center button. Hikari watched her with narrowed eyes, her heart beginning to thump loudly in her chest. Why was Gatomon being so serious? Why didn't she just let Hikari come into the room?

"Gatomon—"

"Leomon's injured, Hikari." Gatomon answered her before she could even ask the question. The feline's gaze caught Hikari's, her fangs clenched into a venomous snarl. "The bastard hurt him, _and_ Ogremon. They're going to digivolve."

"What? But—that'll mean—"

Hikari had no idea that Ogremon had the power to digivolve as well. Did that mean he'd remained Ogremon by choice? And Leomon... the last time Leomon digivolved, he became SaberLeomon, and SaberLeomon...

She didn't have the greatest memories about SaberLeomon's fate.

"He's not digivolving into SaberLeomon," Gatomon warned. Hikari blinked at her, but Gatomon only pulled her claw away from the button on the digivice. Immediately, a cloud of swirling mystic blues and greens manifested in front of them. Light flashed across the room, oxygen was both sucked into and breathed out from the DigiPort—almost as if it were alive, like a careless, hungry monster, and the Destined and their partners was its prey. Its food. And boy, was it lusting for their flesh. The DigiPort exhaled as a gale of wind swept over her room, ruffling pieces of paper and tugging at loose pieces of Hikari's clothing. The DigiPort inhaled, shifting the winds toward it—sucking in pencils and bits of dust before exhaling them a second later.

Hikari couldn't feel herself move.

She didn't want to.

"What do you mean?" Hikari asked, turning to look at Gatomon.

"Now's not the time, Kari," Gatomon hissed, grabbing her partner by the hand and leading her toward the portal. "We have to get there now—this is _urgent_, don't you understand?"

"Tell me what's going on, Gatomon." It was no longer a question. It was a demand.

"Fine," Gatomon hissed, still walking toward the portal as she spoke. "They're facing someone, Hikari—some_thing_ they can't handle on their own. They're facing the worst of the worst, the kind of bad guy you don't screw with no matter how macho you think you are. Do you know about the Four Great Dragons, Kari?"

"No, but I have a feeling I'm going to find out."

"The Four Great Dragons are the greatest of all dragon types—they're lords and masters, and rulers of their own realms—and while they might not hold the highest power of each realm, they keep the balance," Gatomon told her. "Azulongmon is the balancer of our world."

"And what do they have to do with what's going on right now?"

"I have no idea," Gatomon said nonchalantly. Hikari blinked before giving a nervous grin, feeling a bit like her words were pointless. However, just as she stepped one foot into the portal, she turned to Hikari and continued, "But apparently, Ogremon and Leomon are trying to protect someone from one of the Great Dragons. Azulongmon can't be here to protect that person—so in the meantime, Leomon and Ogremon have to do it. I think Azulongmon was crazy for sending _them_, but I guess it was whoever's closest, and since Ogremon has a fetish for stalking Leomon and all that..."

They allowed the DigiPort to swallow them whole, covering them in its glowing spectacle. Hikari could feel it lightly pull at her skin, tearing away cloth and replacing it with something new—something fresh. It was different than the outfit she used to wear when she'd travel to the Digital World. Now that she'd grown older, so had her fashion sense—and so had the Digital World's fashion sense. However, the change between going from real to digital was barely noticeable now. She'd gotten used to it—feeling as if she was swimming through an endless lake of blueberry jell-o.

"Hikari."

The firmness of Gatomon's voice brought her out of the gentle trance. See, the DigiPort usually had this affect on people—most of the time, it gave this feeling of ultimate euphoria, like nothing could go wrong. If you lived in paradise, Hikari always imagined this is what it would've felt like. However, it also was a façade—a false calm in the wake of tremulous storm. To stop the lightning from striking her home, Hikari would have to use Herculean strength to pull the clouds from the sky and drown them in the mercurial sea.

But for now, she'd have to settle for Gatomon's warning. It was rare to call her "Hikari"—most of the Destined just referred to each other in nicknames. While Gatomon called Hikari "Kari", Daisuke was called "Davis", Miyako was "Yolei", Iori was "Cody", and Takeru was "TK". When they called each other by their full name, well... it was rare, serious occasion.

Gatomon was all business, then.

"We're done with small fry," Gatomon told her, her eyes narrowing into cat-lit strips. "This time, we face the big boys. _This_ time, we could die. I mean, MaloMyotismon and Apocalymon were powerful, but... Kari, the Great Dragons are considered as _gods_ by some—and by 'some', I'm not only talking about digimon, either. Their power is so ancient and great that some consider them legendary, while others consider them myth. If it weren't for Azulongmon showing himself to us years ago... I wouldn't believe in them, either."

**-\/-**

That's right. That's what brought them to the desert, wasn't it? They got a distress call from Leomon. Remembering Gatomon's words of wisdom, Hikari could've laughed in the darkness of her unconsciousness. They were foolish not to wait for the others—but they thought, hey, we have time. Hey, it's okay. It's no big deal, right? The others will be here within moments, and Leomon and Ogremon need our help _now_.

But then again, even if they had shown up as a group, Hikari doubted they had the strength to face what Hikari saw there.

When Hikari and Gatomon arrived at the battle site, they didn't see any Great Dragon. The only thing they saw was the hot sand that burned to the touch, that sizzled in the crackling sunshine. Rays poured over Hikari's back, forming round beads of sweat barely one minute into their arrival. However, sand and heat weren't the only things Gatomon and Hikari found.

They also saw a silhouette.

A single figure, walking away from them as sand twirled and fluttered around him. A small flock of sand would puff around his feet for every step he took, but that didn't slow him down a second. He was ready to go, even though Hikari and Gatomon stood only a mere few feet from his towering figure. Not only did the figure leave gaping footprints in the sand, but there was something else he left behind.

Red.

It caught Hikari's eye instantly, quick enough that she could crouch down to the ground and reach forward, her finger tracing the thick substance staining what was once golden-brown grains of sand. Russet brown eyes the size of Russia looked up from the bloodied footprints to the retreating figure, who was groping his front as he hobbled through the sandstorm.

Was this... blood? Was the man... _bleeding_?

No.

No, he wasn't bleeding. This blood was old. Barely even still a liquid anymore, even—it was almost like it was just stuck to his armor, barely even there. From this distance, she couldn't see too many details. It was mostly platinum armor glinting in the radiant shine with a shawl twisted around his waist. He moved with a sort of graceful flounce, one hand holding his front while the other clutched for a blade residing at his hip. Oddly, there was something... _familiar_ about the figure. Maybe it was the platinum armor that reminded her so fondly of Omegamon and Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, or maybe it was the way he held himself (that strong, heroic figure she'd seen so often in so many of her friends), but... It was like she'd met him before.

Many times before.

At the same time, she didn't recognize him. She only wished she did.

She wanted to meet him.

Smile at him.

To tell him, _Hey, how are you? Wanna get a cup of joe sometime and tell me what you're doing covered in blood? Or, lemme guess, it's just paint?_

No, she wanted to be friends with the figure.

It was an instant maternal instinct she'd always had. Hikari couldn't remember a time when she wasn't like that. She'd instantly accepted Numemon, even when they'd kidnapped her and tried to make her their queen. She'd tried to help a bunch of Scubamon, even though they were _supposed_ to be controlled by Dark Spirals. She trusted Taichi to find her medicine when she had a fever, even though it was nearly impossible to find human medicines in the Digital World. She trusted everyone instantly, without a second thought—she remembered a time when she even tried to forgive Myotismon, yet that forgiveness was for naught.

"Kari, do you know him?" Gatomon turned to her partner as Hikari watched the figure walk away.

She shook her head.

"No," she said. "Not yet." She gave Gatomon a warm smile before standing and stepping toward the figure. "But he might be hurt—or know someone who is. He might also know where Leomon and Ogremon are."

She reached out her hand to brush the figure's shoulder. Even though Gatomon tensed, Hikari felt as loose as string, free and smiling as she felt the figure's power wash over her. It was true that, whoever he was, had a warm, gentle aura. It was a strong aura, but kind all the same. It was almost as if she were curled beneath the covers at home, holding a glass mug of hot chocolate with puffy white marshmallows floating at the top. It was a feeling she missed; it was a feeling she enjoyed.

Her fingertips clasped at the red, green, and blue shawl around his waist. "Hey, sir, do you need some he—"

Maybe it was this "destiny" she'd always had to deal with so much, or maybe it was her own innate animalistic instincts, or maybe it could've been what she saw at the very last moment, but she heard Gatomon scream her name just in time to look up and watch as something—something resembling a white wind—came barreling at her too fast for the naked eye to see.

It hit her like a cannon ball.

_**PSSSSSSH**_


	3. The Stolen Heart

**Disclaimer: **Don't own digimon nor any of its brilliant characters. :)

**Author's Note:** Just another test. :) Will be deleted once I put up the revised version.

**Digimon 02: Parallels  
**  
_The air around me still feels like a cage  
Love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage again_  
—Snuff by Slipknot

_"He was Blackbeard's bo'sun," John whispered huskily. "He is the worst of them all. He is the only man of whom Barbecue was afraid."  
"That's him," said Peter.  
"What is he like? Is he big?"  
"He is not so big as he was."  
"How do you mean?"  
"I cut off a bit of him."  
"You!"  
"Yes, me," said Peter sharply.  
"I wasn't meaning to be disrespectful."  
"Oh, all right."  
"But, I say, what bit?"  
"His right hand."  
"Then he can't fight now?"  
"Oh, can't he just!"  
"Left-hander?"  
"He has an iron hook instead of a right hand, and he claws with it."  
"Claws!"  
"I say, John," said Peter.  
"Yes."  
"Say, `Ay, ay, sir.'"  
"Ay, ay, sir."  
_—Peter Pan, chapter 4 "The Flight"

**Chapter Two  
**The Stolen Heart

It hit her like a cannon ball.

She was so surprised when she heard that loud sound. It somehow reminded her of her grandmother, who used to toss water out a bucket. The water would splatter concrete, sometimes causing Hikari to slip and fall if she wasn't being careful. It... sounded like rain. Like teardrops on ivory piano keys; fingernails clicking on ebony. Like delicate cat paws on sanded wooden floors.

Clk clk clk

She was so surprised when she saw specks of blood spot the sand beneath her.

GSH

She was so surprised when her head jerked back into a near-silent scream, a scream that didn't echo yet sent rippling tremors throughout a body too tiny to hold such a huge sound. Immediately, it wasn't only her arm that felt a stinging SNAP reverberate, but she saw a flash of white wind collide against her body, forcing her to slam into the ground. More blood splattered, followed by another white wind that came rushing from the figure's body. It was as if an invisible blade was striking her, first jaggedly shooting into her shoulder's socket before tearing upward and striking her face. As soon as invisible blade met face, half her world went black while the other half remained a deep red mess.

Clk clk clk

"KARI!"

Hikari's head snapped up just in time to see Gatomon launching toward her partner, her pupils mere specks in the center of her bulging white eyes. She was a flash of snarls and purple, her golden tail ring sparkling as her claws swiped for the stranger's face.

RRRRRRRRRIP

More blood, this time not specking the sand, but splashing it. Both Hikari and Gatomon hoarsely screamed at the same time—cried out as it wasn't only Hikari's world beginning to fade away. The brawny figure wasn't holding his face in fear from Gatomon's strike, no, he was standing above Gatomon, watching as the digimon's voice grew dead silent. She was lying still. She was lying—lying—not—not fully there. Not—not together.

Hikari couldn't even speak.

What just happened?

Did he just—kill Gatomon? No, she couldn't be dead. She wasn't turning into data. She was just silent. Unmoving. She was still alive, right? He didn't kill her, right? Even though, vertically, from the navel and up—even her face—even though—she was... she was alive?

Right?

Hikari couldn't think. Everything was jumbled. Together. Unmoving, unthinking. Even the sands twisting and twining and hitting her bleeding shoulder—even then, there was nothing to feel.

Realizing that Gatomon was down and out just like that, the world turned into an empty shell around her.

"Ga... to... mon?"

The next thing she knew, she watched as five gaunt, thin fingers reached toward her face. Hikari attempted to scream, but her voice was caught in her throat a second later and instead it came out as a choked cry. She lifted a fist to punch his arm, but the figure only gave a low titter that rumbled from inside his white steel helmet. She didn't realize what was happened until he lifted her up by her neck and turned her so she could see into his helmet—see from within that cold, lonely darkness that a pair of eyes were staring deep into her own.

A pair of glistening, lively blue eyes; eyes that caught her and held her and disallowed all movement. Eyes that stopped every breath, every cell, every ounce of blood from traveling from one vein to another.

She wanted to scream, but those eyes even silenced the most raucous voice box.

"It appears I took your arm," the figure said in an pleased voice. Something dark and purple crumpled inside Hikari's chest at that moment—something that gave a rumbling growl from within her as the figure watched her malignant gaze. Hikari hadn't felt anything like it in her whole life; it was if a beast curled up in her. Took her. However, she shushed the beast—she couldn't get angry. Not yet. Not like this. The figure chuckled, tilting his head to the side. "Ah, you're the Destined of Light, aren't you? The... Chosen One. I thought you might be."

If it weren't for the hand holding her by the neck, she had a feeling her head would've been rolling backward by now. Her eyes glazed over, the world began to tumble away, her breathing shortened. At that moment, there was only two things in the whole world that echoed not only in her near-deaf ears, but through her ears to her mind, from her mind to her core, her soul, her self.

One, she could hear his voice as he cooed to her, telling her things she half didn't understand and half wished he wouldn't say.

Two, she could hear her heart again, thumping loudly in her chest.

Ker-THUMP, it sounded like. Ker-THUMP, ker-THUMP.

"I don't understand why they chose a weakling like you," the gaunt figure said with another low chuckle. One of his hands moved from her neck to gently brush her chin, and from her chin he rested his palm on the center of her chest.

"I can feel it beating, Kari." Even though all she could see beneath that helmet was his bright blue eyes, there was a flutter to his voice that said it more than his eyes did. He was smirking. Mocking. Amused. "If I were alive longer than I have been, I wonder if I ever would've wanted one. You know, a heart and whatnot."

Gatomon. Her gaze moved toward the digimon nearby, whose blank eyes slowly turned toward Hikari. As soon as their eyes met, Hikari could tell that Gatomon's body was quickly dissipating, and she was using every ounce of strength she had to not fade away. Already, Hikari could see her wavering data, turning blurry and fuzzy and ready to ascend into a crying aether.

Just as soon as her eyes met Gatomon's, those eyes slid back to the figure's. It was true that they were bright and lively, however, there was something else—something behind them—something that wasn't lively, or bright, or amused. There was something dead in them, too. Something... lonely.

Why?

"You'll have to forgive me for being so rude," he said, the amusement swiftly vanishing from his voice. His fingertips drew above her left breast, nailbitten claws pressing into frail human flesh. "It's nothing personal, oh mighty Chosen One. But I don't really want you to kill me someday. I hope you understand."

Understand?

Why?

Why did he hurt her?

Why?

Why did he hurt Gatomon?

Why?!

Looking into his eyes as she felt claws bite into her chest, Hikari was reminded of many things.

Just last week, she was lying belly-down on the rosy sheets of her double-sized bed. Takeru, with his ever-so-cute fisherman hat, sat down next to her and gave a ferocious yawn, his arms stretching out wide as he blinked toward Hikari. She looked up at him with glossy eyes as she, too, yawned.

Takeru grinned and said, _I guess yawns really are contagious._

Watching his baby blues blink as she tiredly smiled at him, he then laughed and bounded forward like an uncontrollable kid. His arms wrapped around her in a warm embrace, his voice as soft as velvet as he hugged her close to him._ B'awww, c'mere—you know you'll always be my best friend, a'ight?_

The next flash of memories hit her with impenetrable force. They flickered so fast, she swore that if mental whiplash was possible, it would've happened to her. Next she knew, she was remembering as she watched herself in Daisuke's own dark eyes. She could see her reflection, smiling at him warmly as his expression brightened. Daisuke was always bright, always warm, always there—even when she didn't want him to be there, he was.

However, a second later, he turned away from her with a perky grin and watched as she turned toward a basketball hoop. She told herself to do it just like Takeru taught her to; remember to pull back your elbow, one hand at the ball's apex while other is on the other side; aim for the box. And sure enough, the basket made it. A second later and Daisuke picked her up off her feet.

_Ahh, how can I protect the perfect woman?!_ He asked through a grin as he twirled her in a circle, forcing a dizzied giggle to form on her unready lips. Daisuke laughed, too, even though she could tell he was pouting inside—she beat him at hoops, and now it was not only Takeru who was better than him at basketball, but Hikari, too!

Another flash of memories.

_Tai, he—he left—_ She looked up at her big brother, who watched her with sad eyes. She remembered there was this empty hole where her heart should've been; it felt like someone tore her right open and showed her heart for everyone to see, only to take it away. In that moment, Taichi reached forward, wrapped his brotherly arms around her, and hugged her. She hugged him back, tears forming—falling—becoming—disappearing—coming back—leaving. The world around her didn't seem to exist anymore the day Shan Poi moved away.

_Don't worry, Kari,_ Taichi told her as he pulled away to smile at her. He tipped her chin up with the side of his index finger, his watery does catching and keeping her light until she would need it back. _We'll always be here, you know, to catch you when you fall._

She was then brought to another memory—this one broader, longer, thicker and realer than the others.

A few weeks ago, she invited Miyako over to watch movies with her and Gatomon. Of course, there was ice-cream (Rocky Road this time), and of course, there were smiles, giggles, and jabs at each other. Originally, Hawkmon was supposed to be there as well, but Miyako told them he had a date with a pretty little pink birdy.

_Are you serious?_ Hikari asked her. _He and Biyomon...?_

_Oh, yeah,_ Miyako said through a toothy grin, giving Hikari a thumbs-up. _And of course, it's all thanks to my great matchmaking skills! Girl, the Destined of Love is in da HOUSE._

The three talked about a lot of things that night—like how Miyako realized she was beginning to develop real feelings for Ken Ichijouji. Everyone knew she'd crushed on him since the moment she realized he was facing Daisuke in a soccer match back in the good ole days; everyone thought it was just that, though. A crush. A crush that faded as soon as she discovered his true identity. But the truth was that watching Ken grow into this great person only made Miyako look deeper into him; see him beyond the brawn and the beast to the beauty he held inside of him. It was physical attraction, but lately, as they were growing older, Miyako began to wonder if her crush grew.

Of course, Miyako thought she was totally in _loooooove!_ with him. Hikari, however, thought it was probably something bigger than a crush but a little less than love, even if they'd known and liked each other for a long time. People said you can't truly love someone unless you've known them for at least five years. Hikari didn't know whether or not that was true, but she did know that Miyako, as someone who wielded love beyond compare, would figure things out on her own.

Hikari also remembered when Miyako teased her about her own love life, too.

_Now, what happened to that Shan Poi kid?_ She asked Hikari. Hikari just laughed and batted away Miyako as she attempted to give an intelligible response.

_Well, we were doing pretty well until he had to move back to Hong Kong with his brothers—I think it was because their grandpa was sick,_ Hikari told her with a slight grin. _In truth, I didn't know he was such a gentleman!_

_Yeah, beyond all those rippling muscles, there was actually a personality!_ Miyako chided, poking Hikari's side. Hikari just laughed in response and again batted her away, but Miyako didn't stop there. _So now there's the Poi Brothers, TK, Davis, Willis, and, uh, how many more guys competing for your affections?_

Gatomon just snorted. _You two are a bunch of lovesick hormonal puppies in heat!_

Miyako and Hikari blinked at the feline for a few seconds, turned to blink at each other, then Gatomon, then each other. Then, with a slight mischievous grin, the two girls turned to Gatomon and flung themselves forward, tackling Gatomon until the cat hissed and struggled to get out of their grips.

_It's no use!_ Hikari shouted. _You shall not escape us, my feline friend!_

_Yeah, _Miyako snickered. _Besides, you're no one to talk, future Mrs. Wizardmon!_

Immediately, Gatomon stopped struggling in order to cover her heat-ridden face, her fangs biting down on her bottom lip hard enough to nearly break its skin. The girls giggled, but Gatomon merely gave them a half-glare as she said, _Don't tease meeeee!_

Then Hikari came across that memory—a memory carefully stored not only in her mind, but even through paper; records and newspapers and articles and even her mother's camera.

There was this picture she remembered her mother took of her when their "big" adventures came to an end. Everyone was there to take it the day MaloMyotismon died—that was four years ago to the day, man. Hikari stood holding Takeru's hand as Daisuke wrapped his arm around her shoulder; Miyako wrapped her arms around both Iori's and Ken's as Ken ruffled Daisuke's spiky hair with his free hand. The digimon all stood by their respective partner, some clinging to their legs as others stood loner-style.

However, it wasn't only those twelve in the picture: it was massive. The first group got together as well, so Taichi and Agumon, Yamato and Gabumon, Sora and Biyomon, Koushiro and Tentomon, Jou and Gomamon, and Mimi and Palmon could get into the picture, too. Not a second later and the Spore Kids jumped in, joined by all the friends the Destined made during their world tour, from Catherine in France to Michael in America. Even Wallace showed up to commemorate this, with both his digimon partners. Andromon, Elecmon, Meramon, Whamon and Leomon and Ogremon and all of their digimon buddies visited to commemorate this event—the event that would forever mark the Earth as not the only world with intelligent life.

Most of all, as Hikari attempted to force herself back to the present, the figure's eyes reminded her of something else—someone else—and that was why her gaze soon shifted toward Gatomon nearby. The feline was lying stiffly, staring up at the sky as a line of where a tear once was soaked the fur starting from the corner of her eyes, down her temple, to staining the sand. Hikari knew that Gatomon wanted to move more than anything to save her partner—but with a wound like that—Hikari could barely move, herself, and she hadn't even been... been torn like that... like...

She'd gotten vertically ripped in half.

Hikari's gaze went from Gatomon to the figure—particularly to those empty, soulless eyes. As bright and lively as he tried to make them, they were still void of all emotion except one.

Loneliness.

And loneliness led to fear, concern, stress—sadness. Yes, in the stranger's eyes, there was loneliness, and fear, and concern, and stress and sadness—everything that shouldn't have been in his eyes was there, and Hikari wanted to hate him for it. She wanted to hate him for what he'd done to Gatomon, she wanted to hate him for the twinge she felt running down her chest, she wanted to hate him for making the world around her a hazy mess as she struggled to stay conscious.

She wanted to hate him.

But the fact of the matter was that... Hikari didn't even know what true hatred was. And she couldn't ever hate a creature she pitied, no matter what he did to her or her loved ones. Embittered, Hikari acrimoniously laughed and shook her head, thinking about what people like Miyako and Taichi would say to her.

Why can't you hate someone, Hikari? What did he do to you to deserve your pity? So what if his eyes looked lonely? GOOD, for what he did to you and Gatomon, he SHOULD be lonely, the ripe bastard! Oh God, what would Yamato and her parents say?

Why didn't you kill him, Kari? Why didn't you just get it over with? It wouldn't be the first time you took the life of a digimon.

Please. As if she could kill him now, even if she wanted to. Without Gatomon, Hikari was... nothing. A weak paragon of light, persecuted and fallen from her pedestal. She may have represented light for some time, but today, that light would waver.

It was because of this digimon, to boot.

Why can't you just hate him? Why can't you at least do that for yourself, you silly airhead?

Yet, there was something inside her—something that boiled and bubbled and seethed with rage—just at the thought of hating someone. It was a creature separate from the purple beast curled up in her chest. No, this was also a monster, but it wasn't curled up inside her. It was unleashed.

It wouldn't let her discover hate today.

Especially if it was hate toward a digimon with eyes similar to how Gatomon's used to be, before she and Hikari became friends.

Just hate him and be done with it, something inside her fumed, claws pressed against metaphorical bone and metaphorical flesh. Hikari inner-winced at the slithering voice, like a creature that wanted to rip her apart limb-from-limb. You dimwit, why do you have to be so righteous all the time? Why can't you just let it go? Let it all go? Why do you have to be the perfect little saint and not hate the bastard who's gonna KILL you AND Gatomon?

Hikari bit her bottom lip, staring again into the flickering eyes of the destroyed digimon whose hand held her to his mercy. He was there physically in front of her, holding her up by her neck as she struggled to stay awake; held her as she struggled to live. The world around her was swiftly falling away like the petals of a rose in fall, yet she fought.

Fought against both the darkness trying to take hold of her mind, and the fear she felt rippling in her chest. Her fear wasn't that she was going to die. Her fear was simple: would she discover hate today? She didn't want to, especially because...

Gatomon probably did a few horrible things when she was working under Myotismon...

She wanted to destroy the Destined, especially Hikari...

And what about Wizardmon? If Wizardmon hadn't been there for Gatomon, regardless of her wrong-doings, then she wouldn't be the same digimon she was today...

What about Ken?

If Daisuke hated Ken even after he regretted what he'd done, what would've happened?

What if this digimon was really feeling what his eyes conveyed?

What if he was lonely, afraid, sad?

What if he was...

lost?

It was strange because Hikari always fought to help the helpless. Even now, one minute away from death, she was struggling to save anyone she could. Even if they took her life and the life of the digimon she cared most about. Even now—even—she didn't listen to the snakelike voice hissing at her to let go of her forgiveness, to destroy her love and her light, and to hate him. It wanted her to beget every slice of humanity still inside her.

However, even for the creature who did this to her and Gatomon, she couldn't do it.

She wanted to.

She knew the digimon warranted her hate.

But... she couldn't. Not so long as his eyes shared the same dim abyss that Gatomon's eyes once had, that Ken's eyes once had, that even Takeru's eyes once had when they faced the greatest of shadow monsters. These were her eyes when Taichi and Agumon left her to return to the Digital World—the eyes hers became as his fingertips left her cold and numb. Lonely. Afraid. Sad. Lost.

You're a fool, Kari, the voice seethed. But you've always been one—even to your death.

Ker-thump.

There it was. Her heart again—beating loudly in her chest. It was a reminder of who she was.

Ker-thump.

Her heart was a protector.

Ker-THUMP

Her heart was a beacon of light, there to guide her and to love her.

Time to love.

To forgive.

To help.

Here Hikari went.

Ker-thump

Just say one word, Hikari. Say one, and the rest will come easily.

"Friend..." Hikari gurgled, her hand trembling as she tried to reach toward the digimon's face. Her muscles stopped cooperating midway through the reach, causing them to fall limp at her side as the world around her faltered again. However, she watched the figure's eyes widen; watched as his pupils shrunk and his grasp on her weakened. She smiled warmly, even sadly. Somehow, she found the strength to speak, even though her voice was broken; breaking. She was breaking, broken, bleeding; she was dying and destroyed at the same time, but she spoke. "Every... every—mon—has... has light. Even the dark—the darkest digi..."

Lift your arm, Kari, she told herself. Again, she tried to lift that weakening arm, even if her muscles were screaming at her to stop. Tendon and bone creaked with unwanted movement. Her body fiercely rebelled against her mind, but she wouldn't be stopped. Lift your arms, reach him, and touch him.

Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump.

Grimacing, she felt a rush of heat fill her body as drops of sweat formed on her temple, running down her neck as, somehow, nearly screaming in the red agony, she touched his chin. The immense power that single motion took was enough to make her smile despite the pain; it made her smile, and it made the tears filling her eyes worth it to know they were worth it falling away.

"Loneliness—ness—shouldn—shouldn't be shared," Hikari whispered, that same shaky hand soon after falling away from the creature's chin as her smile unintentionally faded. "Let me... be your friend."

The creature watched her with his beady gaze, not a single thing within him moving nor loud, not a single thing happy nor sad. He remained absolutely silent. The only thing noticeable about him were his eyes, which traced every line of her face, every crinkle of hair and every fold of her lips.

"I—" he began, choking on his words. A second later and she watched his eyes narrow into a frown, his grip tightening around her throat (though not enough to strangle her). "Are you kidding me? I cut off your arm and killed your pussy cat."

Life. That was the first thing she really noticed about his voice. A lively, bright tone, just like his eyes. However, also just like his eyes, there was something dead and uncaring in that voice, like the world could shatter beneath him and he wouldn't even notice because, hey, his world was shattered a long time ago. It was only through this voice, these brilliant eyes, and his armor that Hikari suddenly made a realization.

The figure wasn't just some figure she saw one day in the desert.

This was the guy.

The guy she'd seen in dozens of dreams; the digimon she was worried about for months. The one creature who made her sleepless nights turn into endless days, made her body a vessel of infinite prophecy and pain, the one creature who made her realize that their "big" adventures weren't over. There were still many more they would face, the first of which would begin with his name. The name of the creature holding her by her throat, who became suddenly very stunned by just a single gesture of kindness.

He was the destructor. The destroyer.

In her dream, she'd named him oblivion, because that was all that he created. Death. Pain. Misery.

Even so...

"I'm not afraid," she told him. She smiled sadly, watching as his eyes glossed over and froze. "But... you are."

GSSSSSSH

Again, Hikari threw her head back in a roar, fingers clawing frigidly at the air as fist plunged through flesh. She heard another scream—something hoarse and high-pitched, that pierced the brilliant sun—a scream she swore was Gatomon's but couldn't be sure—but one thing she was sure about was the crippling impact of his arm sliding through her as if she were warm butter.

The beast inside her body snarled.

She cried out, barely managing in the swift heat of adrenalin to raise her hand and clasp his wrist as she stared the monster in his bright blue eyes.

The creature leaned in so close Hikari could feel the cold metal of his helmet brush her ear. She nearly screamed, her voice caught only by a blood clot that began curdling up in her throat. The creature nearly laughed in amusement—making the beast inside her body roar.

"It's odd," he whispered. She could feel his breath brush against her neck, one fist through her while the other held her up by her waist. Hikari's legs attempted to snap forward—to crumple—to stop the pain surging through her chest traveling through millions of little pins of pain receptors. She wanted everything to stop, yet nothing did. The figure sighed, shook his head, and continued, "I think... in another lifetime... I was meant to protect you. In the end, I'm warning you not to come looking for me. Pity."

I... don't think there'll be a problem with that... Hikari hissed, snarling through bloodstained teeth. The figure looked on at her with a sigh, his head tilting slightly to the side.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "But I have to do this."

And just like that...

GHHHH

...He wrenched his arm out of her, held her to his chest, and gently placed her onto the golden grains of sand as the winds swept bronzy bristles around prickly cacti and reddened soil. Hikari watched him with simple doe eyes—she realized then that the weight of the world was finally pressing against her chest, pressuring her into that simple oblivion she'd always dreamed about.

Darkness was seeping into her sight, at first devouring everything at the corner of her sight.

Heh, she thought bitterly.

As the figure began to walk away from her, he disappeared within the darkness consuming her sight.

I... never would've thought...

In the near distance, she watched as Gatomon's gentle blue data began to flitter upward, twisting and twining as square specks before a perilous orange dusk.

...Oblivion is this painless...

And Gatomon disappeared into the shadows of her mind's unconscious reverie.

-\/-

I am the creature who stole your heart...

The one who you are destined to destroy...

My name…

Is

CHAOSMON

-\/-

(Don't forget)

Don't forget what?

\ It was like Hikari was floating in an endless dream. Her eyes were closed, yet she could see the soft pinks and the luminous blues of a world she didn't know, nor a world she quite understood. /

(Don't forget... who you are)

Who I am?

\ Her brow furrowed. /

(...Even though he has your heart, you shouldn't forget—you can't forget—that you are...

you are

you are

you are

you are

you are

You are...)

( . THE ONE . )

The One...

\ It sounds light on your tongue, doesn't it? /

(Save him... and the worlds he will crumble.)

-\/-

When Hikari dragged herself out from that endless darkness, she found herself peering into a pair of bolt blue eyes that at first appeared to be two massive spheres hanging eerily above her head. A second later and she realized that they were Gatomon's eyes—eyes she was surprised to see.

"Kari?" Gatomon whispered, reaching a paw forward to rest gently on Hikari's shoulder. "Kari, are you awake?"

Was she?

She didn't feel awake.

But she didn't feel asleep, either.

Even though she could feel her fingertips kneading linen bed sheets, she wasn't kicking or screaming or writhing in pain. In fact, there was no pain, there was no happiness, no sadness—even her surprise was dull, numbed, barely existent. She wasn't scared.

Her eyes were just staring ahead, right into the glistening depths of Gatomon's beautiful blues.

"I... don't know..." she finally said, attempting to sit up. However, she felt Gatomon's vice-like grip on her shoulder and immediately knew she would have to lie back down. Gatomon bit her bottom lip in silence, her grip loosening once Hikari complied and lied flat on her back, staring apathetically above her at the ceiling.

Slowly, she drew her gaze back to Gatomon. Her gaze caught on her digimon blood-marred fur, strips and bits dyed into a rich mahogany hue by assumedly the gaping gash winding from her bellybutton to the violet tip of her left ear. Even so, it wasn't so much of a gash anymore as a scar—closed, healed, no longer bleeding. Nothing was left of Chaosmon's heralding attack but a cicatrize.

Gatomon was no longer two halves from the waist up, but stitched back together like Hikari's favorite little ragdoll. The girl didn't know if she was concerned, upset, or amused—and the unknown knowledge of that feeling was almost as frightening as the fact that she didn't feel either. She only knew what she was supposed to feel. The best part was that she knew she should be scared, yet she wasn't. All she knew was that those four essential emotions were blank expression on her silk face.

"Gatomon..." She smiled sadly at her digimon. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."

"Don't apologize—I'm the one who's supposed to protect you," Gatomon said through biting lips. She sighed and leaned forward, hugging Hikari as tightly as she could without hurting her, which was surprisingly tight. Hikari patted her digimon's back, her eyes falling half-lidded as her precarious gaze scanned the room.

There were four cream-colored walls with tacky floral wallpaper pasted to the tops and bottoms of each solid barrier. There was a door a little bit away from the bed, right next to a small circular room that cut into the current room Hikari was in. She could only assume that room was a bathroom, while next to it there were desks and chairs, a beeping heart monitor and several of Hikari's favorite books (The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu and winner of the 123rd Akutagawa Prize, Kiregire by Machida Kou). Hikari pulled away from Gatomon to reach toward The Tale of Genji (if not just by habit), only to watch as the blinding sunlight flowed from the window beside her bed and landed on her right arm.

The memory struck her like raindrops on grass in summer.

Back in the desert, she ran up to him, she—touched him—and told him she wanted to help him—she—just wanted to help someone who was lost—but the only thing she saw was a flash of white wind and the thickness of red thereafter. She felt a rush of heat fill her right shoulder, and for a moment, she swore she could both still feel her arm and, at the same time, feel nothing there at all. When she tried to see where the white wind struck her, she realized it hit her like a catapult. Her arm was hasta la vista, bye-bye. Gone.

Yet, here she was, reaching toward The Tale of Genji with the same arm she'd lost.

"Gatomon," she said, eyes widening as she pulled her trembling hand away from the book and stared down into its shaky splendor. She followed every crevice, every turn, every fold and line and wrinkle. Gatomon watched her silently—Hikari didn't think there was a single thought in her head that could've consoled the human girl at that moment.

Especially because what Hikari saw wasn't necessarily her arm, her hand, her flesh, but something—someone—else's. She wasn't staring at the arm of a human's.

She was staring at an arm that wasn't metal or plastic, or even a hook like in all those pirate movies Hikari used to watch when she was younger. No, the hand she saw was twice the size it used to be. Her upper-arm was a bulging pocket of muscle about the size of her thigh, while her lower-arm harbored dozens of red gleaming...

scales?

...Mythril?

Hikari felt Gatomon rest her palm firmly on her shoulder, even though her partner was as silent as the world around her was quickly becoming. It didn't take long before it was only Gatomon she could hear. Yes, she could hear the air filling Gatomon's lungs, raising her chest; she could hear that same air leave Gatomon's lungs and brush Hikari's hair past her shoulders.

She could hear Gatomon's shaky voice as she said, "When I woke up, I was all healed. If it weren't for these scars, I would've thought it was just a nightmare. That—that monster left his mark on me... and you."

Hikari stared blankly at the arm, examining the way the sun shimmered dimly against its red glossy surface. A second later and she bitterly grinned, her fingertips tracing between each scale, each bulging vein, each diamond glint.

"Heh," she said, looking up at Gatomon. "Some mark, eh?"

"Hikari."

Again, Gatomon said her full name. It hadn't even been 24 hours since Hikari last heard her full name spill onto Gatomon's lips—she supposed it was just one of those big days, the kind of day you'd never forget. Hikari wished she'd stop having those. At least, the bad kind.

"I want you to look over at your heart monitor again," Gatomon told her. Hikari's brow furrowed quizzically, but Gatomon only looked down at her feet as if she were ashamed. Hikari couldn't help but to wonder why and oblige—but when she looked up, she suddenly felt very... odd. She thought she was hooked up to the equipment. She could feel the equipment connected to her. Gatomon just sighed and softly placed her paw on her forehead, voice strained as she continued, "No one can explain how, but... your arm wasn't the only thing he took away."

The heart monitor was flatlined.

And Hikari was still alive.

-\/-

He watched his reflection with a glimmer of outraged anger.

His body was shaking, even though he wasn't quite aware why. All he knew was that he just took Yagami Hikari's heart away from her and, at the same time, gave her a burden he didn't believe she could bear.

The creature crouched over the simple well, palms clasped against its gray sandy stones, a pail filled with green-hued water swinging at the top of a wooden apparatus connected to the well. He couldn't stop watching his rippling reflection in the water—his off-white armor, the color of the cloths wrapped around his gaunt figure, the sword he wore on his hip... he could see it, but when he attempted to look past the darkness beneath his helmet, he couldn't see a thing.

What color were his eyes?

Only darkness was behind the white shell encasing him.

He'd seen them just seconds ago, reflecting in the doe hue of Hikari's own brilliant gaze. He'd seen them, he touched her, he wanted to help her.

But then he forgot who he was and why he was there.

All he knew was that he needed a heart—because without a heart, he couldn't move. Couldn't think.

He couldn't sing.

"Heh," he grunted, plunging his hand down into the water pail right into the center of his reflection. The ripples multiplied so quickly, he couldn't even make out his figure anymore.

All was well.

"It was easy, you know," he said to himself, turning from the well to a great-lit city nearby. He peeled back skeletal lips into a scarecrow grin, his head tilting slightly backwards as the sky turned dark above him. "I should steal more of these. They're beautiful things. Lively things. I need more, anyway, don't I?"

Yes...

Yes, he did need more.

Because he didn't remember who he was or where he'd come from, hearts were all he had left.

And they were so easy to get, after all.


	4. Cry My Name

**Genre**: Mostly action/adventure, drama (not angst), and horror, but it also has a lot of epic, romance, sci-fi, fantasy, tragedy, family, and friendship qualities. Small splash of Humor (especially in the second arc) and Mystery.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own digimon, nor any of the characters used in this fic except one or two. XD No infringement intended.

**Author's Note**: I just wanted to point out that in Japan, most kids don't go to high school until they're 16 years old. In this fic, the Destined are freshman in high school, whereas Iori is still in middle.

**Digimon 02: Parallels  
**_My heart is just too dark to care.  
__I can't destroy what isn't there.  
_—Snuff by Slipknot

"_None of them knew. Perhaps it was best not to know. Their ignorance gave them one more glad hour; and as it was to be their last hour on the island, let us rejoice that there were sixty glad minutes in it. They sang and danced in their night- gowns. Such a deliciously creepy song it was, in which they pretended to be frightened at their own shadows, little witting that so soon shadows would close in upon them, from whom they would shrink in real fear. So uproariously gay was the dance, and how they buffeted each other on the bed and out of it! It was a pillow fight rather than a dance, and when it was finished, the pillows insisted on one bout more, like partners who know that they may never meet again. The stories they told, before it was time for Wendy's good-night story!"  
_—_Peter Pan_, Chapter 10 "The Happy Home"

**Chapter Three  
**Cry My Name

A heart...

So fragile, so divine, so human.

Such innocence is a true heart. A pure heart.

And the Destined's hearts, most of all, were hearts to be taken advantage of.

Will you awaken him, Destined?

The beast, the monster, the fiercest of all?

The one who will

DESTROY

?

The creature stirred in his sweet silent abyss, filled with an empty darkness; filled with a loneliness that disabled life, thought, comprehension. The creature, heaving, slowly stood. His head tilted, a liquid stare boring amply into his iron-clad hand. So many lines. So many wrinkles. Such long fingers with so much blood on them; so much blood left to shed. Such strong, strong hands.

He is the one who will

RAIN

_**HELL**_

ON

_**EARTH**_

He remembered a time ago they were three pairs of hands, and not just one pair. A long time ago, indeed.

But he was awake now.

And awake he would remain.

But for how long would the other Destined remain awake?

**-\/-**

A day passed.

Then two days.

And three days.

Soon, it was a week, and after that, it was two weeks.

Hikari jolted, fingers thrashing into empty air as her body twisted and forced her to careen right off her bed and onto the floor in a jumble of tangled rosy bed sheets. She winced when she realized she was back in her room, no longer drifting in the infamous realm of nightmares. Needless to say, she'd woken up fighting.

However, Hikari's loud wake-up call apparently wasn't loud enough to rip her feline friend from her own abyss of blissfulness. Gatomon was still lying on the other half of Hikari's bed (which, even though Taichi no longer lived in the same apartment, remained a bunk bed), her body winded around the thin sheets Hikari _hadn't_ nagged in her fall from grace. Gatomon was coiled into a firm ball similar to a centipede, her eyes only slightly open but glossy, as Hikari had seen them many times in the past. She used to think it meant Gatomon was awake, but she learned soon enough that Gatomon wasn't. If she were awake, she would've asked if Hikari was okay.

Watching Gatomon, she'd almost forgotten what so fitfully woke her up—_almost_. It didn't take her a long time to remember the sinking of fangs into palpable flesh, the heat of pincers seething into her legs, claws ripping into her neck. She also hadn't forgotten the feeling of the world fading around her.

No.

No, that was wrong.

The world _wasn't_ fading around her.

That didn't even begin to describe its feral reality, broken into a purple huff of angry aptitudes and unsettling disrupters. Thinking of the reality in her dreams, even though the real world around her became a colorless gray, she was able to shudder for the first time in weeks. She didn't remember what dreams felt like, all she remembered from her sleep was the fear, the chase, the knowledge that all was lost the moment that man's mighty blade met tremulous earth.

Most of all, she remembered the explosion that swallowed everything—not only her and the people around her (strangers, friends, acquaintances, loved ones), not only did it swallow the city or the country or even the world, but that explosion ricocheted until it hit the sun and the moon and the stars. It gripped Pluto and Mars and Venus, ripped Saturn's gleaming ring from its marble surface and propelled Mercury into Jupiter. It sent a rush of heat to consume Neptune as, slowly, tiredly, Uranus caved in on itself. Not even just the Milky Way was taken by that explosion of power.

It took the Digital World with it, too.

_All_ the Digital Worlds.

And every night, for months now, Hikari dreamed about this monster. And every night, for two weeks now, the man with the dragon tattoo hadn't come once to save her. Now, she was alone.

Now, she was apathetic.

_You don't have a heart, Hikari,_ was what Gatomon told her the day she woke up in the hospital. The digimon held her own face, trying to stop the tears inevitably forming and falling, but she wasn't keen on keeping them back. Gatomon always wanted to try to act tough, but in actuality, the cat digimon was just as weak as anyone. She was just as sad as anyone, and just as worried. She sniffled and looked back up at Hikari through glazed eyes and continued, _I tried listening to it, but it's silent. No beat. No thump-thump. It's just... silent. Hollow. When the doctors tried to check for themselves, there was nothing. It's a miracle you're alive, but no one can explain _**how** _you are._

Hikari could explain it just fine.

It was that digimon, wasn't it? That...

_Chaosmon..._

who stole her heart.

Wasn't it?

What did it matter, anyway?

The past two weeks, the world lost all its color to Hikari, after all. Things were quiet. Peaceful.

...Dead.

Hikari didn't know what she wanted, what she felt, _how_ she felt. All she knew was that there was a world around her that should've shined like it used to, but now, without her heart, everything seemed all that much more dull and pointless.

If it weren't for the voice she'd heard in her unconsciousness, Hikari wasn't even sure she'd bother. Ah, that voice was a sweet one. Feminine and light, there was a hint of concern and warmth in it, even though the voice was obviously disembodied. Hikari didn't know if she'd imagined it or if it was some higher power warning her of what was to come, but she did know that the one thing she did want was to listen to that voice.

_Don't forget_, the voice told her. _Don't forget, Hikari, who you are. You'll fade someday, you know. If you want to stop from fading sooner, gather up a few friends. Find it._

_Find your heart._

_Don't let him keep what he's taken from you._

"Another nightmare?" said a voice above Hikari's head. The brunette blinked and looked up to see the feline blinking down at her, her elbow leaning against a goose-feather pillow as she lied on her side watching Hikari. Hikari blinked back, caught off-guard too quickly to react in time before the digimon smiled and stood. "You've been sitting on the floor for a while now."

She paused, sighed, and leapt off the bed. She landed beside Hikari, causing Niko nearby to frizzle and hiss, his feet pouncing backward as he diddled away from them. Hikari and Gatomon watched him run away before Gatomon laughed (much to her partner's silence) and turned to her partner, her head tilted to the side. "Come on, kid. Let's get breakfast."

**-\/-**

"Mornin', Sleeping Beauty," greeted a voice from the kitchen doorway. Hikari blinked up to see Taichi giving her his normal debonair grin, white teeth poking out in their ever-so-cheery way. Hikari grinned at him as he brightened in his odd (but typical) Yagami-Taichi-Fashion. He bristled almost catlike when Hikari's dull gaze seized his own. He'd admitted many times since the "incident" that Hikari's eyes weren't as bright as they usually were. Staring into them was a bit like staring into the eyes of a witless cadaver, without a single spark from the ignition to trigger life into her body. Hikari disagreed by habit, even though they all knew it was true.

He then broke eye contact to rustle his new blue jacket, complimentary with a yellow star on each shoulder above two yellow stripes that wound around each arm. Beneath the jacket was a gray T-shirt that hung loosely around his blue jeans, which made a wispy whispery sound with every step Taichi took toward his younger sister.

When he was close enough, Hikari gave him a small smile, just enough to make him believe she was happy to see him. Well, she should've been happy to see him, at least. However, she felt more... numb about it than anything.

"Hey, Tai," she finally replied. "Why are you here?"

"B'aww, how could I let my little sis be all alone for two weeks in this big ole apartment? You'd be having parties every night without inviting me!"

"Oh yeah, with a keg and everything."

Taichi chuckled at the thought. Hikari grinned and folded her hands in front of her, ready for Taichi to reply when another voice filled the room. Both siblings looked at the hallway where they saw their mother, staring at Hikari with a raised eyebrow.

"That better be a joke, young lady," she said, walking into the kitchen to yoink a bagel and a carton of cream cheese in the fridge. She then turned back to the both of them and spoke in a very stern (yet kind) voice. "Listen, you two. Your father and I want to have a nice, uninterrupted time in Paris. If you disturb our second honeymoon... well, you can imagine what I'll do to you when I get back."

The two kids' eyes widened. Taichi was the first to pale and reply, "You wouldn't... you know... make dinner, would you? 'Cause, Mom, there's a reason why we ask _Dad_ to cook."

Hikari clasped her mouth to stop herself from giggling. Mrs. Yagami, on the other hand, gave a sly smirk wide enough to send chills down Taichi's spine. She leaned toward her son, eyes ablaze in a furiously amused glint, and she said, "I'll make dinner, alright. I'll make dinner for a _week_."

"Oh, it'll be the death of us!" Taichi flailed his arms up into the air and sighed.

The two kids grinned toothily at their mother. Taichi stuffed his hands into his big pockets and at the same time winked, while Hikari just shook her head and turned to a yawning Gatomon as she shuffled into the room. Mrs. Yagami's eyes softened suddenly into a gentle, warm quality. It was always that look in them that caused Hikari to turn to putty. If she had to inherit anyone's eyes, she was glad she inherited her mother's.

They were always so kind.

"Another thing," she said, looking specifically toward Hikari. "I don't want any 'adventures' until we get back, okay? I think we've all had enough adventures lately to last us a life time."

Hikari blinked. That was an unusual request. Mrs. Yagami was accepting of her kids' duties to the Digital World—it was rare when she asked them not to do this or not to do that (at least, in regards to the "Magical World", as Mr. Yagami described it). In the beginning, she was weary of them leaving, but in the past three years, she'd loosened up a bit due to every single one of them ending happily ever after.

_Well, why the hell do you _**think**_ she's worried about you leaving, numbnut?_ Her inner-voice seethed, the tone fierce enough to feel like a conk upside the head. Hikari gave her mother a strained smile and nodded, reaching forward to hug her.

"No, we'll be fine," she said. "Have a good time, Mom. Tai will keep me safe. Right, bro?"

She turned to Taichi, who laughed and gave her a thumbs-up. A second later and he marched forward, embracing the both of them with arms large and long enough to enfold both of them sternly in his grip. Hikari hadn't realized just how much Taichi grew in the past few years—she could still remember a time when his arms couldn't even reach halfway across their mother's waist, much less fully.

Nevertheless, Taichi said, "Ah, she'll be safer than Safemon on safe day."

Safemon?

Safe day?

Wow, Taichi knew how to pull things out of his ass.

Hikari laughed anyway, even though their mother looked up with eyes sharp enough to cut diamond. Taichi snorted nervously and pulled away from the two women, his hands folded behind his back before he nodded.

"Uh, I mean, uh—she'll—uh—be good 'n' gooder when you back! I'll work like a Trojan to, uh, make this place, uh, Trojan-y, except I'll beware of Greeks bearing gifts and everything, ahaha!"

His high-pitched laughter was enough to make both Yagami women raise an eyebrow. In the end, however, their mother softened.

"Exactly," Mrs. Yagami replied, poking one of her fingers into Taichi's chest. After a second, she blinked and looked _at_ his chest. Poked it again. Looked up at his face. Half-heartedly glared. "...Why have you been working out, mister?"

"Soccer season!" he said, smiling big.

"It wouldn't be because you're planning an _adventure,_ now would it?"

"Psssh, of course not! Me? Adventures? That was _sooo_ four years ago."

"Damn right four years ago," she added, resting her mitts on her hips as she then turned toward her daughter. Changing her expression to a warm smile like a bipolar shepherd with the brownest puppy dog eyes, she leaned forward to give Hikari a simple smackaroo on the cheek. "Well, the car's all loaded, so we'll be leaving in a few. You two have fun, just not _too_ much fun. Ya' clear?"

"Crystal," Gatomon replied beneath Hikari with a bright smile. "Have fun, Mrs. Yagami!"

The old woman smiled at the digimon and nodded. Again, there was another swift expression change: this time to a big puppy grin to match the big puppy eyes.

"Oh, trust me..." she said, looking at her lean husband as he loaded the Chevy below their apartment. "_I will_."

Hikari and Taichi grinned at each other as their mother rushed toward her bedroom to pack _just_ a few more things (which meant two more big bags of luggage, essentially). When she left, things were quiet for a while. Hikari grabbed a white bowl and some Cap'n Crunch from atop the fridge, ready to make herself the breakfast of champions. Gatomon leeched off her cereal, pawing at its contents until Hikari slapped the back of her paw and forced her to get a bowl of her own. Taichi, on the other hand, just watched the two as he folded his arms.

"Kari," he finally said. She blinked up at him before he again gave his typical Yagami grin and continued, "While Mom is gone, we should have an adventure."

"No."

She didn't even let him finish before she refilled her bowl and crunched down on her spoon, sweeping off grains of cereal and swallowing them without chewing. Taichi blinked at the firmness of her voice.

"But—"

"I said no," Hikari repeated, taking another bite. She chewed this time and swallowed. "You—_and_ all the others—have already suggested it a million times, and each time I've said _no_. Whoever did this to me _did this_ and that's that. I'd just like to move on, please."

Especially because the memory of Chaosmon's words as he pumped his fist through her heart—"_I'm warning you not to come looking for me_"—was enough to send chills down her spine the second his slithering voice filled her head.

However, that wasn't enough for Taichi. He rushed toward her, slamming his palms against the table on either side of Hikari. His gaze bored into her own, regardless of their dull depths, as his brow crinkled into a half-glare half-concerned expression.

"Move on? That's a laugh," Taichi hissed. "You can't move on, Kari. Until we get back your heart—_and_ your arm—you won't _ever_ move on. And I know that for a fact."

He then pulled away from her, his hands clenched into trembling fists as he turned his back toward her. Hikari looked up at him with gaping eyes, the spoon dropping from her hand and clinking against the bowl. Gatomon looked up at him with a similar expression, however, another expression soon replaced the one before it—an expression that was an odd mix of agreement and worry, as if she wasn't sure if she should side with Taichi or tell him to back off.

In the end, she did the latter.

"Tai, your mom said—"

"I don't _care_ what Mom said, she doesn't know all that happened out there," Taichi snapped, without looking back at them. Instead, he focused on what little golden light streamed from Hikari's open bedroom doorway and into the hallway connected to the kitchen. Still without looking back at them, he sighed and shook his head, his fingertips pressing against his temples. "I'm going to say goodbye to Dad and go to the gas station. Want twinkies or anything while I'm out?"

Hikari closed her mouth and cleared her throat. She picked her spoon back up and shook her head, the curve of the silver utensil dipping into the creamy white milk.

"No," she said. "I'm fine."

"You're not fine," he said crossly, moving toward the door. "Tell me when you've come to your senses, will ya'?"

And he was gone.

**-\/-**

"Okay, seriously, Kari, you _needed_ to get out of the house!" Miyako told Hikari as she tugged her into the mall. Hikari sighed and half-heartedly glared at Miyako, but the girl just grinned and winked. "Oh, c'mon, you know I'm right, you just don't want to admit it."

Hikari didn't know what she wanted, remember? Though, going by her normal personality, she would've guessed that she liked going shopping with the girls, especially because it was so few times when the Destined had enough time to get together. Mimi had even recently moved back to Japan after _Seventeen_ decided they wanted her cooking show to take place in Japan, and Sora actually managed to get some free time from the office, which was rare for the talented designer.

"She's right, you know," Sora teased Hikari as they pulled into a shop with brilliant paintings and other artcrafts hanging on the walls. As the eight moved into the store, each of them were caught by a certain art form, be it picture, statue, figurine, or miscellaneous. However, Sora didn't allow that to distract her, even though Biyomon was tugging her in the direction of a nearby painting of some turtle doves. She grinned and ruffled Hikari's hair. "I haven't seen you all week!"

"I haven't seen you in _months_, kiddo!" Mimi gleamed, flinging both arms forward to embrace Hikari as she grinned at the younger girl. She winked and said, "Man, I'm so happy you still like pink nearly as much as I do. Tell me, what do you think of the hair?"

Hikari blinked and traced Mimi's newest hairdo with her eyes. She'd gotten rid of most the pink, but there were still brilliant streaks flashing over brown rolls of genuine Mimi hair. She'd also gotten rid of the star hairclips and replaced them with a pair of blue floral pins that held her bangs back from her face, framing it in a heart-shaped fashion.

_What do you think of her hair, Hikari?_ She asked herself.

She gave Mimi a strained smile.

"It's cute," she said. "I like it."

_At least, I think I do. I think I _**would**.

(You would like it if _what?_)

"Ah, I knew you would!" Mimi giggled and slapped Hikari on the back. "I mean, who wouldn't?!"

"Good 'ole Mimi," Miyako chuckled. However, as they walked through the store, her eye caught something nearby. She blinked, stared at it for a few seconds, then grabbed Hikari by the elbow to pull her back.

"Yolei, careful," Hawkmon warned her.

Miyako grinned at him and turned to beam at Hikari. "Hey, hey, look at this!"

She pointed to a rectangular painting about the size of Hikari's hand. The painting itself was splayed with a variety of different cool colors, from sky blue and midnight purple to a vibrant green. Then, as if to liven it up, the artist added a splash of soft gold across a few clouds where the sun was attempting to peek through storm-embedded fluff. It wasn't the sun that Hikari lingered on, however. It was what was below the sun.

Two people—a man and a woman—were dancing beneath a wild winding storm. It wasn't like they were doing this tremendous duet. Quite to the contrary, it looked as if they were dancing just for the hell of dancing, without any rhythm without any rhyme without any thought other than the joy of it. The joy of each other's company. It was raining, specking the buildings and the roads and the nearby old 50's cars that looked as if somebody took cookie cutters and determined their shape that way. The best part about the picture—even though it was probably the smallest and least important detail of all—was the two people off on the sidelines of the picture. One was a maid who held a maroon umbrella above the lady in a long red gown, while the other was a butler in a black penguin suit as he held a black umbrella above the dancing gentleman's head with his tall black top hat.

Neither of the dancers seemed to realize the umbrellas were even there, though.

"So much detail for such a small painting," Miyako said with a toothy grin. "Isn't it pretty? Someday, that's gonna be Ken and me! We'll have servants and maids and go to balls... ah, wouldn't that be the life?"

Hikari knew right then and there she was going to buy that painting. She plucked it off its place on the stand and brought it over to the main desk, despite Miyako asking her what the heck she was doing.

"Hey, hey, careful with that, Kari!" Miyako said, chasing after her best friend as Hikari planted it on the desk.

"I want to buy this," she told the young well-dressed teenager standing at the cashier. He blinked at her from behind wiry black bangs, his head tilted to the side. She looked at his nametag to see his name was Kazenobu, and quite pleased to see such a name, she turned to him with a grin. "Kazenobu, these two people look so _careless_ yet so _happy_. I want to have this for that simple reason, because a person can be both happy and careless, right?"

The cashier guy blinked and looked from Hikari to the painting, then back to Hikari. "I, er, suppose..."

"And they can find love, too, eh?"

"Yeah, I guess. Do you want it or not?"

"Of course!"

The cashier smiled at her and told her how much yen she'd need to pay, then turned to wink at Miyako as she came rushing forward to grab Hikari. As soon as he winked, however, she bit her bottom lip and giggled.

"Well, hello to you, too, handsome," she purred.

Hikari stopped herself from grinning and grabbed the painting as the man handed it to her. She then clasped Miyako by the hand and rushed back toward the others, a smile seemingly forever implanted on her face. She sighed and turned to Miyako, who was giving her a curious grin.

"What was that all about?" Miyako asked, taking her hand out of Hikari's as Hawkmon rushed back to her side. Gatomon blinked up at Hikari as if she was surprised by Hikari's sudden rush of happiness.

Well, granted, Gatomon would be surprised.

She was the one who saw Hikari's hollowness the most. Out of everyone, day in and day out, it was always Gatomon who watched both Hikari's good side and bad side unravel like yarn. She watched control leak from Hikari's grasp as if she were trying to grasp the ocean, yet the ocean was never quite solid enough to be hers.

However, in that moment, she picked up the picture and smiled at it warmly, her gaze tracing the woman's beautiful smile. "I... want to give it to my parents when they get back." She looked up at Miyako, then to Sora, Mimi, Palmon, and Biyomon as they glanced at her curiously. She smiled again and nodded. "It'll be their welcome back gift!"

What Hikari _didn't_ know, however, was that her parents' new gift would mean more than that to her.

Soon enough, that gift would be one of the few things she clung onto in order to stay alive...

"Um, Kari?" Sora said, a light of concern glazing her ruby eyes. Hikari blinked up at her as she smiled sadly. "Are you... alright? You do want us to look for Chaosmon, right?"

Her smile faded.

"No."

**-\/-**

At times, it seemed like Hikari was the only one who didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. Even though Taichi loved endless green fields, white painted lines in front of a netted goal, and leather-bound spheres, everyone knew that it wasn't what Taichi had in mind for a career. He was good enough at soccer to beat the best of them, but it definitely wasn't what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. Instead, Taichi went into business and accounting—even earned himself enough moola (in a short amount of time) to buy a nice-sized apartment. He was a genius at business, which Hikari wasn't too surprised about. Her brother did have a sorta unique but powerful charisma skill that not many people held. Though, he managed to play in some very kickass soccer games at his university and was nationally recognized as one of Japan's top players.

Yamato entered university in America and decided to try a _double _major. No one thought he could do it, but he did it anyway. He majored in music and engineering, with a minor in astronomy. He didn't have a lot of time in recent years, yet he managed to maintain a very intense and passionate long-distance relationship with Sora, who remained in Japan when her mother's flower shop made a deal with a famous Japanese fashion magazine called "_Seventeen_".

Even though Sora wanted to continue playing tennis, she quickly became wrapped up in the wide world of fashion, which was an element no one saw coming for her. However, as always with Sora, she adjusted quickly and became one of the most popular fashion designers with the whole magazine, even though her mother was only supposed to deal with flowers during fashion shows! It began when Sora submitted tennis uniform designs, which enveloped her in other clothing designs that had _Seventeen_ begging for more.

Other than Jou, Koushiro was the first of any of the Destined to decide what he wanted to be. Almost immediately after MaloMyotismon's defeat, Koushiro (and Jou) left Earth with Gennai for two years in order to train and learn about Digital Life. When he returned, even though he hadn't graduated high school or went to college, he already knew most of what other kids knew anyway! It wasn't hard at all for him to snag a spot in Human-Digimon relations right in the heart of Tokyo, where he worked even to this day. He and Gennai stayed in contact daily.

Jou was quick to decide, as well. When he was younger, he didn't want to become a doctor like his father. He always relied on his older brothers to have that fate—because Jou wanted to be _different_ from the rest of them. He didn't want to play the part of a matched set. He wanted to make his own fate; he wanted to make his own destiny. His father taught him everything he needed to know for basic medical help and, as a diligent person, Jou followed every word he said—even though Jou himself hadn't really decided what he wanted to be.

However, when he saw Imperialdramon face MaloMyotismon, it hit him. He was going to be doctor like his father wanted him to be—_but_... he wasn't going to be a _human_ doctor. After MaloMyotismon's defeat, he and Koushiro studied in the Digital World under Gennai, who also taught Jou everything he needed to know about digimon, including diseases, pandemics, epidemics, and anatomy. Jou wanted to help the world. _Both _worlds.

Now, everyone thought Mimi was going to be the fashion designer. When _Sora_ became a fashion designer, everyone thought Sora was going to make Mimi her model. Of course, right? It's _Mimi_. Mimi Tachikawa. The Odaiba Princess. And hey, for a while, that was exactly what Mimi was: a model for _Seventeen_, working with each of Sora's marvelous designs—but then everything came tumbling down when Mimi decided she wanted to do something else (well, Mimi never could stick to one thing—she easily got bored being in a relationship with Koushiro, she ran away from any intimacy with Jou, for a while Yamato was thinking of leaving Sora for Mimi until the both of them realized that Mimi was too fickle and Yamato was too much in love with Sora, she hated anything physical with a passion so she was easily irritated being in a relationship with Taichi, and she and Michael were too similar to stay interested for too long; Mimi couldn't even stick with one _major_ in college—she was constantly changing it from Interior Design to Politics to the Arts, et cetera).

She didn't want to smile in front of the camera day in and day out; for someone who loved the spotlight, it was strange because she valued friendship and family so much over a modeling career, which took up a lot of her day. It was then that Mimi chose her own career. Instead of being a model, _Seventeen_ signed her on for a cooking show, where she would not only promote their magazine and fashions, but she would also fulfill her own wish of showing the world what an amazing cook she could be!

Daisuke was one of the first people Mimi asked to help her come up with recipes. A week before Mimi signed a contract to her new cooking show, the Motomiya family had a big party and invited all the Destined, where they got to experiment with Daisuke's many noodles recipes. Of course, they were all simply delicious—so delicious that his recipe was the first one Mimi wanted to do for her cooking show! Hikari supposed Daisuke's fate was sealed there and then. At the age of fifteen (one year ago), Daisuke had become a worldwide cook as famous as Emerald, if not even _more_ famous due to his association with saving the world (thus bringing him to an almost Superman status). With his connections to _Seventeen_, he was going places! In one year, he'd already seen the Americas, Italy, Paris, New York, all the cooking capitals of the world! _Bam!_

Miyako, even though she had amazing grades and was quickly becoming as strong as She-Hulk, even though she could do _anything_ she wanted and go _wherever_ she wanted, decided she didn't _want_ to do anything. If she needed to get by, she could leech off her siblings or even get a small job, but even though she seemed like the greedy type, in recent years, she'd learned that maybe less is more. Even so, Miyako still had a voracious appetite! Hikari doubted her plan would work, but if Miyako really wanted to, she was 100% sure she could get a job in a snap working under Koushiro in the Human-Digimon relations sector of Tokyo. But that was a long time away, right? They still had high school and college to go through, and Miyako wasn't planning on letting those go, even though she was pretty sure she just wanted to sit at home all day doing absolutely nothing for the rest of her life. To Hikari, who was an active person, that sounded like hell. To Miyako, who grew up trying to please everyone else and working to grab anything and everything she could before it was taken from her, doing nothing for once sounded like Heaven.

Ken wanted to help people. Like Hikari, he shared her desire to help the helpless, to save the saveless, to give kindness to the people who knew none. When Ken realized he wanted to do something regarding law, he realized he wanted to do it as soon as possible. With that knowledge, he began working harder than he ever worked before. He put his extravagant mind to work and realized that, even without the Dark Spore's influence, he could be just as smart and just as active as before! He was planning on graduating school in six months and attending a private academy somewhere on the edge of Hokkaido.

Takeru was similar to Hikari in that he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to be. Well, he wanted to be a writer—that he knew for sure. What kind of writer he wanted to be, not even he knew. Journalism? Eh. Fiction writer? Hm. Non-fiction writer? Maybe. After the defeat of MaloMyotismon, he told Hikari that he felt as if someone needed to record all the events. He didn't mean it as in a simple article way. He thought all their adventures should be recorded explicitly, so people could see exactly what happened. People could see why the Destined fought, and why they _needed_ to fight. He... wanted to _inspire_ people. So, he gathered information for this big book he was planning on writing. Hikari didn't know the details for it, all she knew was that the folder he kept all his notes in was more massive than Gatomon's fur balls—and that was _pretty_ massive.

Even Iori, who wasn't even in high school yet, decided he wanted to do something great with his life. Most people recognized attorneys as these greedy, two-bit evildoers. Iori, on the other hand, wanted to change that misconception—like his father, like Oikawa, and like Ken, Iori wanted to fight and destroy evil. _Un_like his father, _un_like Oikawa, and _un_like Ken, however, Iori didn't feel the need to correct this misconception through violence. He wanted to fight evil verbally. To ensnare them in places where they shouldn't pick up the soap, and to make them wish they'd never stepped a toe out of line. Iori was a lover, not a fighter... _but_... if you pissed him off, he was just as horrifying as Mimi on a bad hair day.

He wanted to become the next young Harvey Dent, minus the whole Two-Face ordeal. He saw it this way: when Ken knocked 'em down, Iori would place steel shackles on their wrists. Of course, this was meant metaphorically. It was up to the police to handcuff any villains. At the age of fourteen, Iori decided he was going to be a lawyer. He even already knew he was planning on attending either Harvard or Oxford, whichever one he could get a better scholarship for.

Speaking of Iori, he'd asked to come see Hikari after she was done with her little shopping masquerade. Despite not knowing exactly what she, herself, was going to be, Hikari did know that she had the grades and the stats to still do anything she wanted. Iori was a smart kid—but he still needed help, especially Hikari's. She did have a keen skill in teaching things, such as poise or maths. When Iori wanted to practice for a speech he was planning on giving, he usually visited Hikari to see how well he was doing.

"Here, hold your chin up," she told him with a nod. She stepped forward and demonstrated for him, then gave him a bright smile. "And make sure to smile big, too. People always listen to a smiler."

"Right," Iori replied with a grin. He followed her example and stood, chin raised, lips curled into an irresistible smile.

The kid definitely grew in the past four years. His hair was a bit longer now, falling in shaggy strands just an inch above his shoulders. As someone forced into soccer by Daisuke, he wasn't that same lanky boy anymore. His chest was a broad chestplate of memories, while his muscular legs held him into a constant graceful stride. His arms were probably the least muscular part of him, yet he held his notecards with a pristine professional look to him, as if Hikari could just dress him up in a suit and he'd be ready to become a lawyer right then and there.

As soon as he began his speech again, Hikari's smile quickly faded. Smiling was just an example, after all. There was nothing really to smile about, right? Nothing in the world to worry about. Even her sanity. What's the merit of sanity anyway? If you were sane, did you get more than a bunch of pats on the back and the stunning chance to be a popular member of society? Why was that even important?

Why was any of it important?

Again, Hikari gave Iori a small smile when he glanced at her. However, he slurred together the words "it" and "takes" at the same second, so Hikari sighed and stood to make a motion with her hands like two shells clamping down together at a rhythmic beat.

"Remember to annunciate," she told him, clamping her hands together then un-clamping them for emphasis. "If they can't tell what you're saying, how do you expect them to listen?"

"Sorry." He confidently nodded and opened his mouth to speak again. His lips hung mid-openly; the air began sucking backward into his mouth; one of his hands rose so his notecards were high enough for him to read.

But then he stopped.

Looked Hikari in the eye.

He gave her a deep, gentle look, his eyes like liquid to her reflection. She could see herself in his eyes (eyes that reminded her of endless Scottish fields and mercurial sea-green depths). Seeing herself echo in them, she realized she didn't like the darkness she brought to the miraculous shining eyes Iori had. She, herself, seemed not to hold the Crest of Light, but the Crest of Shadow...

Because she wasn't smiling.

She wasn't even frowning.

In fact, she was crouched over, loose strands of dark hair falling across her pallid expression. Dark circular sacks hung askew across each of her eyes, peering like a pair of clicking insects hoping to suck the soul out of anyone staring into them. Yagami Hikari was just... staring and staring, without a single lightbulb flickering in her own browns. They were dead eyes. Eyes she'd seen countless times and in countless battles, eyes she'd seen on humans and digimon alike. Eyes she never thought she would have until she would no longer have the ability to look at her reflection.

And Hikari knew that if even she could recognize the depthless glimmer in her reflection, Iori (a Destined of _knowledge_, fer Chrissakes) would be able to, as well.

"Kari," he began, suddenly sitting on her bed as he tossed his notecards aside. Hikari sighed and quickly looked away from him. He didn't stop. He only continued. "Kari, I'm... kind of worried. In fact, everyone's worried."

_He knows. Iori knows_.

It was a dark whisper in her ear, that seething draconic voice that pricked at bits and pieces of her skin. It was tearing at her like lightning that splits the sky, ready to rip and tear and send crackling tremors down a winding concrete road.

Her dragon arm pulsed.

_You're dead. He knows you're dead, Kari. He knows you _**should**_ be dead. He knows you _**act**_ dead._

And there was nothing she could do about it.

Her black snakelike claws twitched on her lap, light pinpricks tearing holes the size of a mouse nose into her seams. It was hardly noticeable, except for the flaring pain that echoed through her leg and into her mind. She didn't even flinch.

"You've just seemed so... down lately."

_Were you ever up?_

Of course she was up at one time. Of course. Of course.

_They're so worried about you. They're ALWAYS worried about YOU, Yagami_.

That was true. Everyone was always worried about her, even when they weren't supposed to be. Hikari and Gatomon (and the others) were sent to protect someone from one of the Great Dragons. They were supposed to help Leomon and Ogremon. Yet, when they arrived, there was no trace of a battle nor the crinkle of sweat on anyone's brow but her own. They were supposed to protect someone, but they never got around to it. Afterwards, neither Gennai or Koushiro could find any trace of Leomon nor Ogremon. Sure, Gennai picked up a lead on their whereabouts a week ago, but he'd disappeared soon afterwards. Koushiro hadn't heard a word from him since.

You know what happened?

_You failed in a mission and didn't get into trouble. If you'd WAITED, you would have a NORMAL arm and a HEART. If you HURRIED instead of interrogating Gatomon, maybe you could have ACCOMPLISHED what you SET OUT to DO. Either way, either path, you didn't do either, and so EVERYTHING is all YOUR fault, yet you get to walk away with warm embraces and tears while others wind up DEAD. Your arm was replaced by a dragon's arm, and you can't feel a single emotion building in your empty chest. Disgusting. You FAILED saving someone from the Great Dragons, and you know how everyone responds to you? They say, "Hey, Kari, are YOU alright?" Well, are you, Kari? Are you alright?_

The dragon hand fisted. Her toes curled in their socks. Wind was pressing against her window, shaking it like the hand of God was reaching down and grabbing it from its place. Iori hadn't noticed a thing, he only continued to look down at his knees, like he knew he shouldn't be asking.

"Kari, it's like you're gone," he said. "Are you... alright?"

_Are you?_

"No," she whispered.

**SNAP**

_**GSSSSSSSSH**_

Iori spluttered backwards, feet and arms tangled in a gory mess of thick red liquid. His lips opened to ricochet a heart-tearing _roar,_ his legs twisting around each other as they forced him to collide against one of Hikari's walls. With a loud _**fwump!**_ His spine cracked against a few shelves of library books, while his eyes widened to see Hikari standing above him, her knuckles

_crk-crk-crrrrrrraaaaaaack_ing

as she rolled her wrist, as her fingers curled down, as her fingers uncurled and curled and uncurled until there was no other cracking to be done. Iori just held his chest as a spray of red fused with a flash of gray light, causing Iori to scream again, one of his legs kicking her desk. With a loud clatter, books and glass "I (Heart) Sister" mugs plowed into the carpet, splashing water and coffee across Hikari as she lurched toward him.

Hikari's door crashed open.

Armadillomon and Gatomon scuffled into the room, their eyes wide with profound shock before they realized exactly what happened. Hah. _Hah._ The girl they knew as "Hikari" stood tired and blood-soaked above a mangled and marred Iori as he struggled not to fall into sleepless oblivion.

_ARE YOU ALRIGHT, HIKARI?_

_ARE YOU OKAY, _**LITTLE GIRL**_?_

NO.

NOTHING WAS ALRIGHT.

"I'll kill you," she spat.

"What?" Iori spluttered, attempting to stand from his place. Hikari gave a choked scream, fingers clawing at the air as she jaggedly moved toward him.

"I'LL KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH!" She lunged toward Iori. Armadillomon and Gatomon bolted forward, their hands clasping her wrists and ankles to stop her from even going _near_ Iori. Heat radiated in her chest. "DO YOU _**THINK**_ I'M ALRIGHT?!"

The heat spread from her chest to her cheeks.

"DO I _**SEEM**_ FUCKING ALRIGHT?!"

Rose from her cheeks to her eyes.

Gatomon shrilly screamed her name, her paws clenching tightly enough around Hikari's wrists that bruises immediately formed. Hikari continued to struggle, her head facing the ceiling as her voice grew hoarse.

"LET ME RIP _**YOUR**_ HEART OUT AND SEE HOW ALRIGHT _**YOU**_ ARE, MOTHER FUCKER!"

And from her eyes, all the heat fell. She could feel something clear—hot—something liquid—trickle down her cheeks to her chin. Somewhere along the way, that heat trailed across the corner of her lip, forcing her to taste... salt?

"I'll... _see_ how okay you'd be..." she choked, her gaze landing on her bloodied dragon arm. "I'll... I'll—oh, God."

The world blurred around her, causing her to stir as Gatomon and Armadillomon released her wrists and ankles. She fell to her knees, one small hand reaching to brush her lips.

_What makes you even more worthless,_ the voice seethed, _is the fact that you just attacked one of your best friends. Don't you just love that?_

When the thought entered her mind, it dropped like a rock into the pit of her stomach where it stayed like a festering, acidic disease eating her from the inside out. She covered her face with both hands, her body a shivering mess of blood and sudden fear.

_**Don't forget, Hikari,**_ the disembodied memory reminded her. _**Don't forget...**_

_**Who you are.**_

"Cody..." she whimpered between cusped and dirty hands, both hiding her face from Iori's view.

It should've been a happy moment.

Hikari could feel again.

Yet, sitting there, the only thing she felt was melancholy; she could feel fear and anger, both aimed at herself as she realized the blood staining her dragon arm was Iori's. Aside from that, it wasn't even the dragon arm itself that'd touched him. It was a gray light that flashed forward—similar to Chaosmon's white wind—and struck him like the swift flash of the sword that dismembered her arm. Even so, by the time she muttered an apology, she could already feel a pair of arms wrap around her almost chokingly tight.

The rock in her stomach bobbed against the thin membrane of her side, causing her to squirm and look from between her hands to see whose warm arms held her so tightly.

Iori?

But... she'd _hurt _him. She'd—she'd said—said _things_ she didn't _want_ to say. Things that weren't even _true_.

His finger lightly brushed her chin and tipped her face toward his so that he could get a better look at her tear-stained face. Giving her a warm smile, he tilted his head to the side and allowed, for just a single second, the acid to burn the rock away. Using crosses and holy water, that warm smile banished the festering spirit from its hiding spot in the darkest depths of her mind, expelling it from her tired body.

"Kari, I think it's time," he told her gently. He stood from his spot, releasing her chin to instead offer his hand to her. Tilting his head to the side, he smiled and nodded. "Let's find the digimon who stole your heart."

"Cody!" Then there was another emotion that rushed like the stride of a gallant stallion, buckling and calling her name as it rode the winds to the core of where her heart was supposed to be. And that feeling was love—pure, innocent love, for the brother she saw standing in front of her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, her voice shaking as she cried, "Cody, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Are you okay? Are you—do you—do you need a doctor? Are you—okay?"

"I'm fine," Iori laughed. He pulled away from her just slightly to point where she'd marred his shoulder, his eyes falling half-lidded as he smiled sadly. "It stings, but... you didn't hit anything vital. Obviously, I can still move. Besides..." He turned his smile toward her, the sadness swiftly swallowed by a surge of glowing cheer. "I was the one who broke Gatomon's fur-blowdryer that one day. I'm pretty sure we're even."

Hikari half-laughed and half-cried, her arms once again clasping him in a tight embrace. Iori joined her half-laugh half-cry, himself, as the two glanced toward their shocked digimon. Armadillomon was the first to rush forward, peeling Hikari away from his partner as he looked over Iori's wound.

"Stay away from 'im," Armadillomon growled at Hikari as he pressed his hand lightly against the wound. Wide-eyed and worried, Armadillomon asked, "Codeh, can ya breahthe alrigh', is there aneh way teh help ya? Do ya wan' meh to get some Advil or somethin'?"

"No, I'm alright, Armadillomon," Iori said with a smile before his gaze traced back to Hikari. Biting her bottom lip in thought, she was pale and sweaty, as if everything was finally beginning to take its true toll on her.

"C'mon," Armadillomon said, attempting to pull Iori closer to the door. "Weh gotta get that bandaged up feh ya."

"Kari," Gatomon said, wringing in her partner's attention. As she turned to Gatomon, the world brightened once again. The cat digimon smiled sadly and reached forward to take Hikari's hands in her paws, her head tilted slightly to the right. "For a second there, I thought I'd lost you…" she smiled warmly. "I'm glad I didn't."

"I'm glad you didn't, either," Hikari said through a small laugh. Gatomon smiled warmly again and leaned forward to kiss Hikari's forehead, her paws clasping the back of Hikari's neck to push her forward so she could hear Gatomon's own heart. Hikari's eyes widened at the sound of it. She could feel the beast inside her chest nearly scream in outrage; yet, at the same time, there was another monster inside her that smiled, bringing that same warmth to her chest. _Ker-thump_, the heart cooed. _Ker-thump, ker-thump, ker-thump._ However, this warmth was soft, like an elegy of the angels. "As long as this beats, Kari, I know I'll never lose you. Even if you don't have a heart, as partners, in a way, we're two halves of the same soul. Don't get me wrong—we're not soulmates or anything stupid like that—but we're two sides of the same coin. As long as I'm here, I'll be your heart. I promise, just... don't let me lose you again."

"I promise," she said in a snap, her gaze focusing on Gatomon's as she smiled brightly. Nodding, she drew her head away from Gatomon's chest to nod at her digimon, her fingers moving on their own as she held up two fingers and crossed her thumb. "Scout's honor."

"Oh, hush, you weren't ever a scout," Gatomon laughed. Hikari was about to join her when she noticed Armadillomon's reflection in her partner's left eye—while carefully helping Iori toward the door, he shed a single glance in Hikari's direction. His eyes narrowed into slits, a flash of anger riveting in their venomous nadir. Hikari watched the two exit, and smiled sadly as she bowed her head.


End file.
